Abe siblings both win gold on day two of judo world championships in Baku
In short
Abe Uta won the women's 52kg title and her brother Abe Hifumi won the men's 66kg title on the second day of the judo world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Japanese outlets reported. It was Uta's sixth world title and second in a row, and Hifumi's fifth, the most by a Japanese man. Koga Wakana had won the women's 48kg title for Japan on the opening day.
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Abe Hifumi won the men's 66kg title and his sister Abe Uta won the women's 52kg title on the second day of the judo world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 5 October, Japanese outlets reported. Hifumi's victory was his fifth world title, which Sankei, Nikkei, Yomiuri and Jiji described as the most by a Japanese man, while Uta's was her sixth and her second in a row. Jiji reported that the siblings winning world titles on the same day was the fourth such occurrence, after the 2023 championships, and that they also won on the same day at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Hifumi, competing for Park 24, beat Mukaoka Takeshi in an all-Japanese semifinal and then defeated David García Torné of Spain by ippon in the final, taking the title for the first time since 2023. Mukaoka, described as the world number one and defending champion, won the bronze-medal match. Yomiuri reported that Hifumi threw his Spanish opponent with seoi-nage in the final, and that in the semifinal, after taking two shido, he scored with sumi-otoshi with about 30 seconds remaining and added another score with osoto-gari. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
Uta beat Ariane Torosoler of Spain in the final, winning five matches from the second round, according to Sankei, Nikkei and Jiji. Yomiuri said the final went to overtime and was decided by three shido against her opponent, and that in the quarterfinal against a German judoka she was thrown for a score before forcing a third shido with four seconds left. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
Yomiuri quoted Hifumi as saying “today there were tough stretches, but I'm glad I could produce my own technique at the end,” and reported that before the tournament he had described it as one he “absolutely cannot lose” ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics. Uta said in the same report that the day was full of difficult matches but that she had trained anticipating that, and described Baku as a special place where she won her first world title at 18 in 2018 alongside her brother. Yahoo! News Japan reported that the pair, who said they were “honestly happy,” high-fived before the medal ceremony and shared their joy. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
On the championships' opening day, Koga Wakana of JR East won the women's 48kg title, her first, according to Sankei and Nikkei, with NHK listing it among its related judo coverage. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The results keep Japan's best-known judo siblings at the top of their weight classes; Yomiuri reported that Hifumi framed the championships as a tournament he could not afford to lose on the way to the Los Angeles Olympics. Public broadcaster NHK led its coverage with the pair winning gold on the same day, indicating the domestic weight given to the result.
Key facts
- Abe Uta won the women's 52kg title in Baku, her sixth world championship and second consecutive, winning five matches from the second round. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Abe Hifumi won the men's 66kg title for a fifth time, described by Sankei, Nikkei, Yomiuri and Jiji as the most by a Japanese man. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Hifumi beat Mukaoka Takeshi in an all-Japanese semifinal; Mukaoka went on to win the bronze-medal match. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- Hifumi beat David García Torné of Spain by ippon in the final; Uta beat Ariane Torosoler of Spain. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- The siblings winning world titles on the same day was the fourth such occurrence, after the 2023 championships, and they also won on the same day at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Koga Wakana of JR East won the women's 48kg title on the first day of the championships. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The championships are being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the second day of competition on 5 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Abe Uta won women's 52kg gold, her sixth world title and second in a row. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Abe Hifumi won men's 66kg gold, a fifth world title, the most by a Japanese man. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 ]
- Mukaoka Takeshi, beaten by Hifumi in the semifinal, won bronze at 66kg. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- Koga Wakana won the women's 48kg title on the championships' first day. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The championships were held in Baku, Azerbaijan, with day two on 5 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 ]
- The Abe siblings won world titles on the same day for the fourth time, after the 2023 championships. [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- How Uta won the 52kg final: Yomiuri reported the contest went to overtime and was decided by three shido against her Spanish opponent, while Sankei, Nikkei and Jiji say only that she beat the Spanish judoka. Only Yomiuri describes the manner of the final win, so the detail is single-sourced.
- The scoring sequence in Hifumi's semifinal against Mukaoka, in which Yomiuri says he received two shido, then scored with sumi-otoshi with about 30 seconds left and added another score with osoto-gari. Sankei, Nikkei and Jiji describe the semifinal only as a win on points; the sequence appears in one outlet alone.
- That Uta won the title in tears after escaping an elimination risk, as stated in a Yahoo! News headline. The phrasing comes from an aggregated headline on a tier-3 community site and is not supported by the other outlets' accounts.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Sankei Shimbun publishes the day-two results, including both Abe titles and Mukaoka's bronze. [ 1 ]
- Nikkei publishes the same result set, credited to Kyodo. [ 2 ]
- Yomiuri Shimbun publishes a longer report with bout details and quotes from both Abes. [ 3 ]
- NHK News reports that the Abe siblings won gold on the same day. [ 4 ]
- Yahoo! News Japan aggregates coverage and reports the siblings' comments before the medal ceremony. [ 5 ]
- Jiji Press reports Hifumi's record fifth title and Uta's sixth, noting the pair also won on the same day at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. [ 6 ]