Uzbekistan wins first ever Olympic judo gold
Uzbekistan wins first ever Olympic judo gold
Diyora Keldiyorova defied the odds in the -52kg women’s judo to become the first athlete, of either gender, from Uzbekistan to win a gold medal in judo at the Olympic Games.
Keldiyorova achieved the historic feat in style as she beat Tokyo 2020 champion Uta Abe from Japan in the round of 16 before then beating the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist, Amandine Buchard, in the semi-final and eventually beating Distria Krasniqi from Kosovo in the final. Buchard took bronze.
“Amazing feeling. First time in Uzbekistan, a gold medal and then from a woman. It’s an amazing feeling. I’m so happy,” Keldiyorova said.
On beating Abe, she added:
“My coach said, ‘If she come first – fight, second – fight, third – fight. The final? It doesn’t matter. You have to win’. I don’t have enough choice, because I train hard.
“Of course, she’s a big, big champion. I respect her, I love her, I like her fight. She’s so fast. But I don’t know, maybe it’s my day today … nobody knows that’s my day and then I’m an Olympic champion.”
Photo by © Michael Reaves/Getty Images
