Hifumi Abe holds the concentration in prelims despite early loss Uta

The second day of the Olympic judo tournament was highly anticipated in the men’s division, especially with Hifumi Abe taking to the mat following his sister Uta Abe's early exit. Hifumi, the reigning Olympic champion and a favourite in his division, showed no signs of the misfortune that befell his sister.

Abe's journey through the tournament was marked by precision and dominance. He began with a victory over Hungary's Bence Pongracz and continued his winning streak against Nurali Emomali of Tajikistan, securing his place in the semi-final without breaking a sweat.

Meanwhile, Denis Vieru of Moldova, the world number one and top seed, advanced quietly yet impressively through the draw. Vieru's standout moment came with a masterful o-uchi-gaeshi throw against Serbia's Strahinja Buncic, which was hailed as one of the most beautiful throws of the tournament thus far. Vieru's progress has been marked by his usual calm and calculated approach, even without the presence of a coach.

For Azerbaijan, the day started on a sour note. Following Balabay Aghayev's rapid defeat the previous day, Yashar Najafov also faced early elimination. Azerbaijan's hopes now rest on Hidayat Heydarov's performance tomorrow as they seek their first medal of the tournament.

France's hopes were pinned on Walide Khyar, who appeared to be in exceptional form. He began his campaign with a tactical victory over the first member of the refugee team. His next match against Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Vazha Margvelashvili of Georgia promised to be challenging. However, Khyar's relentless attacks with yoko-tomoe-nage, ko-uchi-gari, and ippon-seoi-nage overwhelmed Margvelashvili. A precise ko-uchi-gari 35 seconds before the end secured Khyar's win, igniting the arena with excitement.

Khyar then faced Gusman Kyrgyzbayev of Kazakhstan for a spot in the semi-finals. While Khyar led with penalties, a critical error less than ten seconds from the end cost him the match, relegating him to the repechage where he would meet Mongolia's Bashkuu Yondonperenlei.

Yondonperenlei had a strong start in the tournament but was defeated in the quarter-finals by Brazil's Willian Lima. Lima's path to the semi-final included victories over Sardor Nurillaev of Uzbekistan and Serdar Rahimov of Turkmenistan. The semi-final matchup featured a highly motivated Kyrgyzbayev, inspired by his compatriot's gold medal from the previous day, against Lima, who emerged as one of the day's sensations.

Read a thorough analysis by JudoCrazy