Olympic champion siblings Uta and Hifumi Abe led a Japanese gold rush Sunday at judo’s Tokyo Grand Slam.
The host nation added five gold medals on the final day of the two-day tournament, with Natsumi Tsunoda, Ryuju Nagayama and Miku Takaichi also topping the podium at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The 23-year-old Uta needed only a minute to clinch the women’s 52-kilogram final, executing an ashi-waza foot technique to defeat France’s Astride Gneto by ippon.
Japan’s Uta Abe (L) reacts after beating France’s Astride Gneto in the women’s 52-kilogram final of judo’s Tokyo Grand Slam at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Dec. 3, 2023. (Kyodo)
Older brother Hifumi, 26, was almost as quick to wrap up the men’s 66-kg decider, toppling Mongolia’s Baskhuu Yondonperenlei in 71 seconds for an ippon victory.
Both siblings will aim to go back-to-back as Olympic champions next summer in Paris, having already secured selection for the Japanese team.
Japan’s Hifumi Abe (L) battles Mongolia’s Baskhuu Yondonperenlei in the men’s 66-kilogram final of judo’s Tokyo Grand Slam at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Dec. 3, 2023. (Kyodo)
“I want to do everything necessary to make sure I win once more on the Olympic stage in Paris,” Uta said. “I’m still not satisfied with where I am. I want to get stronger and make sure I definitely win for the second time in a row.”
Tsunoda, who is also set for an Olympic berth, was ruthless on her way to winning the women’s 48-kg class. She won all four of her matches by ippon and took just 26 seconds to submit Spain’s Julia Figueroa in the final.
In the fiercely contested men’s 60-kg division, Nagayama took a big step toward Paris with an ippon win over Tokyo Games gold medal-winning compatriot Naohisa Takato.
The final was paused at the start of golden score so that Takato could receive treatment for a cut. The Olympic champion resumed with his face heavily bandaged but lasted just 23 seconds before Nagayama executed the winning move.
In another all-Japanese final, Takaichi defeated Kirari Yamaguchi with a golden-score waza-ari to secure the women’s 63-kg crown.
Related coverage:
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Judo: Abe siblings headline Japan team at Tokyo Grand Slam
Judo: Soichi Hashimoto wins men’s 73-kg gold at Hungary Masters
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