President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a phone conversation with judoka Diyora Keldiyorova, who won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris in the 52 kg weight category, reports Gazeta.uz.
"The head of our state warmly congratulated our athlete, who became the first Olympic champion from Uzbekistan at the Summer Olympics, on this historic victory and expressed gratitude to her parents and coaches," said the press service of the President of Uzbekistan.
At a press conference, Keldiyorova stated that she had prepared for this tournament for a long time. "I knew that each of my opponents would be the strongest. I understood well that I couldn't become strong until I defeated the strong. I think this understanding helped me. I felt that the entire nation of Uzbekistan was behind me, all the female judokas of Uzbekistan. I want to express my gratitude to our esteemed president for his attention to women's sports in the country. The conditions are world-class," she said.
On her way to "gold," Diyora Keldiyorova defeated opponents such as the reigning Olympic champion, Japan's Uta Abe, who hadn't lost in five years, German judoka Mascha Ballhaus, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist Amandine Buchard from France, and the 2020 Olympic champion in the 48 kg weight category, Distria Krasniqi from Kosovo.
This is the first medal for Uzbekistan at the 2024 Games. Diyora Keldiyorova is the first athlete in the history of Uzbekistan to win "gold" in judo. Before this, judokas had won two "silvers" (Armen Bagdasarov in 1996 and Abdullo Tangriev in 2008), as well as five bronze medals (Rishod Sobirov in 2008, 2012, and 2016, Diyorbek Urozboev in 2016, and Davlat Bobonov in 2020).
She is also the first athlete to win a gold medal among women in Uzbekistan at the Summer Olympics. Before this, the only "gold" was won by freestyle skier Lina Cheryazova at the Winter Olympics in 1994. The last time a representative of Uzbekistan stood on the podium was at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — jumper Ekaterina Khilko.
A total of 219 athletes from Central Asian countries are participating in the Paris Olympics. Another judoka from Kazakhstan, Yeldos Smetov, also previously won a gold medal in his weight category.
In terms of the number of medals won by Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan is leading with 1 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals. Uzbekistan has so far won one gold medal.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
July 29, 2024