Judo: Uta Abe back on top with women's 52-kg worlds gold in Hungary
KYODO NEWS - 1 minute ago - 13:50 | Sports, All
Japan's Uta Abe claimed her fifth judo world championship Saturday in the women's 52-kilogram competition, but older brother Hifumi was only able to win bronze as compatriot Takeshi Takeoka topped the men's 66-kg podium in Budapest.
The 24-year-old Abe, who suffered a shock loss at last summer's Paris Games, overcame fellow Olympic gold medalist Distria Krasniqi of Kosovo in a hard-fought final in the Hungarian capital.
The two went toe-to-toe in a tactical battle before the Japanese star broke her opponent's balance and threw her for ippon with just under a minute left.
"It's been a really tough year, but I think my strong willpower led to this result," Abe said. "There's still a long road ahead and I feel as though I need to work even harder."
Back-to-back Olympic gold medalist Hifumi Abe's bid for a fifth world title came undone with an upset loss to Obid Dzhebov of Tajikistan in the quarterfinals.
But Takeoka made sure Japan would take home its eighth straight championship in the division by outpointing Tajikistan's Nurali Emomali in the deciding match.
It was a maiden world title for the 26-year-old Takeoka, who took silver at last year's championships in Abu Dhabi.
"Other athletes will be studying me because of this result, so I need to keep improving and not get complacent," Takeoka said.
After advancing through the repechage, the 27-year-old Abe clinched bronze with victory over Cuba's Orlando Polanco.
Related coverage:
Judo: Ryuju Nagayama wins men's 60-kg gold on opening day of world c'ships
Judo: Kagawa wins 1st nat'l open-weight title, Abe loses in 2nd round
Judo: Japanese women aim to rebound from Olympic setback at worlds
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