Japanese judoka Abe Hifumi wins gold

Celebrate the triumph of Japanese judoka Abe Hifumi, who secured his second consecutive gold medal in the men’s 66-kilogram category at the Paris Olympics! 

Japanese judoka Hifumi Abe won his second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men’s 66-kilogram category on Sunday in Paris, hours after his younger sister Uta fell to a shock second-round loss.

Hifumi defeated Brazil’s Willian Lima by ippon in the final at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, restoring family pride that was somewhat dented after the Abe siblings’ bid to win gold medals on the same day, as they did at the pandemic-hit Tokyo Olympics in 2021, was dashed.
In the women’s 52-kilogram second round this morning, Uta lost by ippon to eventual gold medal winner and IJF top-ranked judoka Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan.

In a thrilling final against Brazil’s Willian Lima, Abe secured victory with an impressive away-waza ippon. Discover the journey that led him to this remarkable achievement

Hifumi’s triumph marked Japan’s second judo gold at the Paris Games, following Natsumi Tsunoda’s conquest of the top honours in the women’s 48-kg class yesterday.

In the semis, Hifumi beat top-ranked Denis Vieru of Moldova, It was by a waza-ri sweeping hip throw in the golden score. Then, he tossed down Lima with a sleeve-lifting hip throw in the final.
“This is an unforgettable memory for me,” said Hifumi. “My sister lost today and it was a very tough day, but I worked hard with a feeling I must give it my all to make up for it.”

Whereas the Tokyo Olympic champion, Uta Abe of Japan, was beaten by Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan with ippon in their second-round match of the Women’s Judo 52-kg at the Paris Olympics at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris on July 28, 2024. “I fought for her,” says Hifumi Abe after winning gold. He was motivated after his sister fell at Paris 2024 Olympics