Central Asia Picks Up Golds as Olympics Near Second Week
Diyora Keldiyorova, who became Uzbekistan’s first Olympic champion in judo, says she has an even bigger goal. “To change the life of women in Uzbekistan is my mission,” Keldiyorova said, according to the International Judo Federation.
The Uzbek sensation spoke after her victory in the 52-kilogram class at the Paris Olympics on July 28. It was an extraordinary achievement for an athlete from a country without much of a tradition in women’s judo. On her way to gold, Keldiyorova defeated Uta Abe, the gold medalist at the last Olympics in Tokyo and a four-time world champion.
The Uzbek’s win over Abe “may very well be remembered as one of the biggest upsets of these Olympic Games,” olympics.com reported. Abe was distraught after the defeat.
Among those congratulating Keldiyorova was Timothy Smart, Britain’s ambassador to Uzbekistan. He said “it is a medal which shows all girls in Uzbekistan, that they can achieve anything they want!”
“Olgʻa, Oʻzbekiston!” Smart said – Let´s go, Uzbekistan.
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Another gold medalist in judo from Central Asia was Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Smetov, who defeated home favorite Luka Mkheidze of France in the 60-kilogram class final.
Smetov, 31, won silver at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and Kazakhstan put him on a postage stamp to celebrate. Then he won bronze in 2021 at the Tokyo games, which were delayed from the previous year because of the pandemic.
Yeldos Smetov; image: Post of Kazakhstan
“Nothing is impossible,” Smetov said after winning gold in Paris, according to Kazakhstan’s Olympic committee. “I achieved this goal on the third attempt.”
Smetov, who has been performing at a world-class level for many years, attributed the longevity of his career to family and knowing the limits of his body.
“After each competition, I spend all my time with my family, not thinking about sport. I am also careful with the bigger injuries; I never go back to competition until fully recovered. A lot of rest is necessary especially when a career is this long,” Smetov, who has five children, told the International Judo Federation.
“The first day of this Olympic Games brought my gold for Kazakhstan and the second brought Diyora’s gold for Uzbekistan, so this is already an incredible games for Central Asia,” Smetov said.
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The Paris games were a disappointment for one of the world’s top tennis players, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, though.
Russia-born Bublik lost 4-6, 4-6 to Taylor Fritz of the United States in the first round of the singles. He and his partner, Aleksandr Nedovyesov, fell by the same score in the first round of the doubles to the Brazilians, Thiago Monteiro and Thiago Seyboth Wild.
“It was an honor to represent Kazakhstan at the Olympics once again,” Bublik said on Instagram. He is currently ranked 25th in the world.
Another Kazakh tennis star, world No. 4 Elena Rybakina, had said just before the games that she was sick and would not participate.
“After the Wimbledon tournament, I fell ill with acute bronchitis, and despite my attempts to return to training, my body has not yet recovered. The doctors have strictly forbidden me to go to the court,” Rybakina said, according to the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation.
“I am very sorry that I cannot fulfill your hopes and play for our team at the Olympics in Paris. I was so close to a medal in Tokyo and carefully prepared for the Paris Games to win gold for Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, illness prevented these plans from coming true,” she said.
Russia-born Rybakina reached the semi-finals of this year’s Wimbledon, before losing to eventual champion, Barbora Krejcikova. Rybakina won Wimbledon in 2022.
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It was worth the wait for Tajikistan´s Somon Makhmadbekov, who won the bronze in judo.
Makhmadbekov shared third place with Lee Joon-hwan of South Korea in the 81-kilogram class. Nagase Takanori of Japan won gold, whilst the silver went to Georgia’s Tato Grigalashvili.
“On the way to this medal there was hard work, victories and defeats, the best coaches, wise mentors, family support, the strongest competitors, the blessing of the Almighty and, of course, the enormous support of the fans! Each of you contributes to this victory!” a delighted Makhmadbekov said on Instagram.
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Turkmen swimmer Musa Zhalayev made his Olympic debut in Paris, competing in the 100-meter freestyle. He finished fourth in a preliminary heat, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the next round, Turkmenportal.com reported.
Zhalayev is a student at the International Oil and Gas University in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and is a national record holder in several swimming categories.
