Japanese Judo prodigies Uta and Hifumi Abe take gold!
It's amazing watching these two, just beautiful technical skill.
Japan's gold rush continues with judoka siblings Uta and Hifumi Abe
Uta Abe celebrates on the podium after winning gold in the women's under-52 kg judo competition on Sunday at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan. | AFP-JIJI
The Abe family had a night to remember on Sunday at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan.
Japanese judoka Uta Abe triumphed in the women’s 52-kg category in Tokyo on Sunday, hours before her brother Hifumi took gold in the men’s 66-kg final, making history as the first siblings to win gold medals on the same day.
Uta, 21, dominated her bouts, but was taken deep into a golden score overtime in the final against Amandine Buchard of France, eventually pinning her down on her back and holding on for the win.
In the semifinal, Uta threw Odette Giuffrida of Italy, also in overtime, to clinch a
waza-ari victory.
In the round of 16 against Brazil’s Larissa Pimenta, Uta went for a pin to score an
ippon victory, and in the quarterfinal a waza-ari was enough to beat Britain’s Chelsie Giles.
Japan’s Hifumi Abe celebrates after winning the judo men’s under-66-kg gold-medal bout over Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili on Sunday in Tokyo. | AFP-JIJI
The bronze medals went to Odette Giuffrida of Italy and Giles.
In the men’s final, Hifumi Abe, 23, defeated Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili to take gold. Bronze medals went to Baul An of South Korea and Daniel Cargnin of Brazil.
Hifumi Abe had thrown Brazil’s Daniel Cargnin to win by ippon — judo’s equivalent of a knockout — in the semifinal.
Earlier, he made his way through the elimination round of 16 in a tight bout with Kilian Le Blouch, throwing the French athlete to the tatami to score an ippon victory in sudden-death overtime.
In the quarterfinal, he saw off Baskhuu Yondonperenlei of Mongolia with a waza-ari.
Defending Olympic champion Majlinda Kelmendi lost by waza-ari in overtime to Reka Pupp of Hungary in the women’s 52-kg elimination round of 32. Now 30, Kelmendi became Kosovo’s first Olympic gold medallist in Rio in 2016.
Uta Abe celebrates after winning the women’s under-52 kg gold-medal bout against France’s Amandine Buchard on Sunday in Tokyo. | AFP-JIJI
Hifumi Abe during the medal ceremony following his gold-medal victory in the men’s under-66 kg judo competition. | AFP-JIJI
News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More
www.japantimes.co.jp