Judo: Uta Abe back on top with women's 52-kg worlds gold in Hungary
BUDAPEST (Kyodo) -- 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 in a huge quarterfinal upset against Obid Dzhebov of Tajikistan, marking his first loss to an overseas opponent in an individual event since February 2019.
Dzhebov executed a counter-throw to reverse the 27-year-old Abe's forceful attack and score ippon midway through the allotted time, leaving the Japanese judoka and the crowd stunned.
"I think I get stronger by getting beaten," Abe said. "Looking ahead to the Los Angeles Olympics, I don't want to waste this defeat...It was positive I managed to compete at the worlds less than a year after the Paris Olympics."
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.
Dzhebov, ranked fourth in the world but without an Olympic appearance to date, placed third for his first podium finish at the worlds.
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