There probably isn’t a more highly-anticipated match-up than the one between Uta Abe (JPN) and Diyora Keldiyorova (UZB)..
Keldiyorova famously defeated Abe in the preliminary rounds of the 2024 Paris Olympics, a win that stunned the global judo audience even though Keldiyorova was very much a top player. It’s just that Abe was at that time, so dominant in the -52kg category, it was assumed that a gold medal for her was a shoo-in.
And indeed, Abe was on the way to win against Keldiyorova, with a waza-ari score on the board, when Keldiyorova took down Abe with tani-otoshi for a thunderous ippon. That shock defeat left Abe wailing in tears for several minutes as the whole stadium, and indeed the world, watched on. It was quite a spectacle.
Immediately after the Olympics, everyone was already looking forward to a rematch (or rather a grudge match, for Abe).
After winning at the Olympics, Keldiyorova took some time off, had a baby, and did not compete again until the recent Asian Open in Aktau where she convincingly won gold. Her judo was the same as before. She mainly attacked with drop sode and followed up with juji-gatame, a winning formula for Keldiyorova.
Abe also took some time off after the Olympics and did not return to competition until about half a year later in the 2025 Baku Grand Slam where she won gold. Since then, she has won two other Grand Slams and impressively, two more World Championships.
There was some speculation Keldiyorova might make a comeback in the Asian Games or the World Championships. If she had taken part in the latter, there would have been a good chance she could meet Abe there. But that never happened.
It’s not clear when the two of them might face each other again. It might be at the Tokyo Grand Slam, if Keldiyorova chooses to go for that one. Or she might not do so for strategic reasons, and wait until 2027 before taking on Abe again.
With Abe doing so well so far, it would be easy to project her as the likely winner in such a rematch. But Keldiyorova’s win against Abe at the Olympics was no fluke. Keldiyorova was on top form. It should be remembered that she pretty much had to beat every serious contender in their category, in order to win the Olympic gold.
After she stunningly defeated Abe in her first match, Keldiyorova went on to beat three more formidable opponents in the form of Mascha Ballhaus (GER) in the quarterfinal, Amandine Buchard (FRA) in the semifinal and Distria Krasniqi (KOS) in the final, for gold.
In a match-up with Keldiyorova, Abe might be confident based on her impressive results since the Olympics but for sure she will also be wary of Keldiyorova’s ability to counter her forward throws. It should make for a very thrilling match-up.
