Japan’s Uta Abe and her brother Hifumi were both crowned world judo champions on Monday in Doha. As at the Tashkent Worlds last year and as at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the brother and sister have again shown themselves to be untouchable on the planetary scene. The first to win was Uta, victorious in the -52 kg final against Uzbek Diyora Keldiyorova, 4th in the world.
She had previously got rid of very valuable opponents, first in the quarter-finals with the Frenchwoman Amandine Buchard, her runner-up at the Tokyo Olympics, then the Kosovare Distria Krasniqi, Olympic champion in -48 kg in Tokyo and climbed category last year. At 22, she won her fifth consecutive world title.
His 25-year-old big brother has four, after his overtime victory in the -66 kg final against his compatriot Joshiro Maruyama. Mongolian Baskhuu Yondonperenlei completed the podium alongside Frenchman Walide Khyar, the only European to have climbed onto the podium in the category.
Japan, the country of origin of the discipline, grants itself a third title out of four possible at the end of the first two days of competition in the capital of Qatar.
