The -52kg champion made her statement early in the Paris 2024 preliminaries when she took out Tokyo 2020 -52kg Olympic champion and four-time world champion Abe Uta, which may very well be remembered as one of the biggest upsets of these Olympic Games.
Her 52kg gold medal is historic, as she became the first Olympic champion for Uzbekistan in judo and the first female medallist in judo.
“It's an amazing feeling — the first gold medal for Uzbekistan, and also from a woman. I'm so happy.”
"She [Abe Uta] is a big champion. I respect her, I love her, I like her fighting. But I don't know, maybe it's my day today … nobody knows that it's my day and then I’m an Olympic champion," Keldiyorova said proudly.
