Abe siblings extend their World Championship legacy in Baku
Usagevpn.com – Judo – Japan’s Uta Abe and Hifumi Abe delivered another memorable double triumph at the World Judo Championships in Baku, each claiming gold on the second day of competition. Their victories added a new chapter to one of judo’s most successful family stories, with both athletes overcoming strong final opponents to stand atop the podium.
The championship day began with an official opening attended by Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer and Azerbaijan Judo Federation President Rashad Nabiyev addressed those in attendance before spectators were treated to a major opening ceremony.
Attention then turned to the competition areas, where title contenders faced increasingly demanding contests as the medal rounds approached.
Uta Abe retains the -52kg crown
In the women’s -52kg division, Ariane Toro Soler entered the tournament ranked fifth and produced an impressive run to the final. Her determined performances through the earlier rounds gave her the opportunity to challenge one of the sport’s most accomplished competitors.
Awaiting her was Uta Abe, the Olympic champion and five-time world champion. Abe arrived in the final with the composure expected from an athlete who has repeatedly succeeded on judo’s biggest stages. Throughout the preliminary rounds, she handled pressure effectively and found solutions whenever opponents attempted to disrupt her rhythm.
The final was a tightly controlled tactical contest. Toro Soler pressed for the breakthrough that could have produced a major upset, but Abe’s experience and discipline proved decisive. The Japanese judoka secured the victory and kept hold of her world title.
The result gave Abe her sixth World Championship gold medal. She remains unbeaten at the World Championships, a record that underlines her consistency across multiple editions of the event as well as her ability to manage the expectations that come with being a reigning champion.
Peter Csanyi, chief executive of OTP Group, presented the medals in the -52kg category.
Hifumi Abe produces a decisive final finish
Later, Hifumi Abe entered the men’s -66kg event as the judoka everyone else had to measure themselves against. A double Olympic champion and four-time world champion before arriving in Baku, he was seeking another title and the return of the red backpatch awarded to the world champion.
His path led to a final against Spain’s David Garcia Torne, who had reached his first World Championships final after a strong sequence of preliminary-round performances. Garcia Torne’s run represented an important achievement in its own right, particularly in a category featuring one of the most established competitors in modern judo.
When the gold-medal contest began, however, Abe showed why he has become such a dominant figure at -66kg. He ended the final with a huge ippon, producing a finish that immediately lifted the atmosphere inside the arena. The score secured his fifth World Championship title and provided one of the standout moments of the day.
Otabek Umarov, Vice President of the Olympic Council of Asia, awarded the medals after the final.
A shared golden moment for Japan
The siblings’ success in Baku reflects the rare combination of achievement that Uta and Hifumi Abe have built over recent years. Both have collected Olympic and world honours, yet their latest victories came in separate weight categories and against different styles of opposition, requiring each athlete to navigate an individual route to the podium.
For Uta Abe, the key achievement was the preservation of an unbeaten World Championship record. Her sixth title confirmed that she continues to set the standard in the -52kg class, where competitors must combine technical precision with patience in close tactical bouts.
For Hifumi Abe, the emphatic ippon against Garcia Torne illustrated the attacking threat that has defined many of his biggest victories. Winning gold through such a clear final score also strengthened his position among the leading names in the men’s -66kg division.
The World Judo Championships in Baku therefore opened with both ceremony and high-level sporting drama. With the Abe siblings once again leaving the competition with gold medals, the second day offered a powerful reminder of their enduring influence on international judo.
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