Diyora Keldiyorova and Uta Abe may clash at the World Championships in Baku — media

Diyora Keldiyorova and Uta Abe could face off at the World Championships in Baku, media reports say.

The Japan Judo Federation has officially confirmed Uta Abe's candidacy in the -52 kg weight category for the 2026 World Championships in Baku. Although Olympic champion Diyora Keldiyorova from Uzbekistan has returned to training, her participation in the prestigious tournament has not yet been confirmed.

If Keldiyorova does compete, the potential clash between these judokas is expected to become one of the central events of the championship. The statistical advantage of their mutual meetings is currently on the side of Uta Abe — 2:1. The Japanese athlete won the 2019 and 2023 World Championships. However, at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Keldiyorova, despite being behind in the score, defeated the reigning champion with an "ippon" score and won the gold medal of the competition.

Based on recent results and current physical condition, Uta Abe is considered a likely favorite for the competition. After the Olympics, she became the world champion for the fifth time, and also won the Grand Slam tournaments in Tokyo-2025 and Ulaanbaatar-2026.

At the same time, experts still recognize Diyora as Abe's main competitor. In Paris, the Uzbek representative proved that she can read the attacks of the Japanese judoka and act calmly against him.

We recall that earlier it was reported that Diyora Keldiyorova was returning to the big sport after a break due to having a child.