Judo: Abe Siblings Strike Gold Again at the World Championships in Baku
Uta Abe claimed her sixth world title at -52kg, defeating Ariane Toro Soler to remain unbeaten at the World Championships. Hifumi Abe followed with his fifth world crown at -66kg, producing a spectacular ippon against David Garcia Torne in the final.
Baku once again hosted the World Judo Championships on day two, with His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, attending the official opening. International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer and Azerbaijan Judo Federation President Rashad Nabiyev addressed the crowd during the opening ceremony, which was met with a spectacular display.
Ariane Toro Soler, ranked 5th, was aiming for the -52kg World title. She had been performing excellently and was battling her way towards gold, with one last challenge standing in her way: her brother ABE Uta, a five-time World Champion and Olympic gold medalist.
ABE Uta entered the final with the composure and experience expected of a champion. She had progressed through the preliminaries with confidence and handled the pressure well. The final was tactical and hard-fought, but it was the Japanese legend who retained her title for another year. Six-time World champion ABE Uta had never been defeated at a World Championships.
In the -66kg category, ABE Hifumi faced off against David Garcia Torne. The Spanish judoka had been in great form in the preliminaries. ABE Hifumi secured his fifth World title with an impressive ippon that thrilled the crowd, marking another golden moment for the ABE siblings.
Written by urgent.news from Euronews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
