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© 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Uta Abe eliminated in women's 52-kg judo at Paris Olympics
By GREG BEACHAM PARIS©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
42 Comments
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WoodyLee
Get Up and go at it again the next round, it's not going your first defeat and it wont be your last, enjoy the games and keep on trying and you will win.
nonu6976
Saw this, she completely lost her composure when she lost, could hardly walk and was wailing uncontrollably. I know she is bitterly disappointed but she reacted like a child.
earsay
What an embarrassing reaction to the loss. I love the humility and stoicism shown by Japanese athletes whether they win or lose but her reaction was utterly disgraceful.
factchecker
Crybaby. Grow up.
Yuuju
I guess her tension and long going stress before the competition resulted in such a reaction. When we are no longer able to hold in our emotions and cry out. Its healthy to cry when you want to cry :)
Hawk
It's almost like she thought she was entitled to win the gold. No, she got beaten fair and square. Better luck next time.
Hawk
I wonder if this one will be replayed on every TV channel every 4 seconds for the next month.
Fighto!
Abe's wrestling was very poor, simple as that. The Uzbek woman was the superior wrestler.
Abe needs to go away and work out if she has the hunger to improve and keep going in the sport.
Fighto!
Remiss of me not to say hats off to Diyora Keldiyorova. One heck of a wrestler! Best wishes getting to the medal rounds.
spinningplates
It was surprising...until we saw Diyora is ranked No.1. Then it all made sense. The commentators needed to do a better job of explaining who is fighting, and what is going on.
Heartbeak for her, but I thought her coach was fantastic in his support while she was in meltdown.
Gaijinjland
It’s really common for Japanese athletes to break down and cry after losing big matches across all sports.
carpslidy
I understand her disappointment but imagine if very losing athlete acted like that, they would take 4 years to finish
Win or lose、 act with dignity
John
It’s disappointing, and you can cry back in the locker room, but don’t be a child throwing a tantrum.
Have some dignity and depart in good order.
You got beat and fair and square.
Learn from it and get ready to come back again. You’re still young.
rcch
Uta Abe was disconsolate after a loss that clearly stunned her as much as the crowd. After struggling to get to her feet and to step down from the tatami, she knelt and wept in the arms of her coach for at least three minutes after her bout.
Uta Abe didn't speak to dozens of reporters gathered after her bout, with her team saying she was too upset. Indeed, her loud sobbing could be heard from dozens of yards outside the tent where she was gathering herself outside the arena.
—
Strength and determination, Uta Abe. You’re (still) 24 years old. This is not the end.
Fighto!
Unless Abe improves her technique and mental toughness, this is likely the end of her Olympic career. Not good enough at this level I'm afraid.
factchecker
It’s really common for Japanese athletes to break down and cry after losing big matches across all sports.
This is the big league and the world is watching. Act like an adult and lose with grace, not like a child who's lost their lolly.
Japanadian
Losing a medal is one thing, losing your composure is a whole other thing…with the latter being worse….
Pukey2
Yes, and delay the next match. When most tennis players lose the match, they shake hands and walk off the court. Can this also not happen in judo?
CaptDingleheimer
She was doing the full-on primal scream on the side of the mats after, top of her lungs. The coach looked pretty embarrassed as he tried his best to muffle her screams into his shoulder, and he damn well should be; not for her performance in the match, but for her performance after.
This lack of sportsmanship and grace has been a problem for Japanese teams for years. Laying down and pounding on the ground crying in the middle of a snowboard halfpipe, sitting in the middle of the ice and crying, instead of gracefully exiting, delaying the next athlete... maybe that's all a way to show the Japanese fans back home that you feel dishonored and shamed and sorry to THEM, but to the rest of the world, you look like a spoiled child and a total jackass.
Bob Fosse
I think it’s more appropriate to congratulate Ms. Keldiyorov than point the cameras at the loser.
Gazman
She acted like a 2yo child throwing a tantrum, it sounded like a pig being electrocuted so I had to tell the kids to turn the sound off. Not very professional.
dmhondz
She was winning but wanted to go for the ippon as she believed she was the superior athlete, like the people around her kept telling her coming to this Olympics. Her reaction after the loss tells it all.
CaptDingleheimer
The entire Japanese Olympic delegation should be required to complete a full-day seminar on 'good sportsmanship' before they even get on the plane, and sign a pledge after. This has been a chronic problem for decades. It's gotten beyond ridiculous.
rcch
Fighto!Today 09:19 pm JST “ Unless Abe improves her technique and mental toughness, this is likely the end of her Olympic career. Not good enough at this level I'm afraid. “
Like I said, she’s (still) 24 years old. Four years is more than enough time to recover and come back stronger,
plus the World Championships in 25, 26 and 27 will be part of that recovery.
Human beings are so predictable—it’s too easy to call her an embarrassment and a crybaby.
She needs to improve, yes, she needs to learn, she doesn’t need to be humiliated—she needs support and she needs to focus on her future, hence my previous post.
Bob Fosse
I agree 100%.
She can start by not humiliating herself with a tantrum.
DaDude
Unfortunately Japan broadcasters never do that. Japan loses, they are done caring about the event.
zibala
The agony of defeat
Bobbysix
Wow that was embarrassing to watch. She’s needs to learn how to lose gracefully and not throw a tantrum like a spoiled child.
Peter Neil
being the best in the world at something is hard.
staying the best is harder.
starpunk
Don't feel bad, Ute. You won gold before and yo7u made Japan proud. You did your best. Better luck next time.
And don't act like Hope Solo did in Rio in 2012. You're gonna be fine.
uaintseeme
They sure do cry hard whenever they lose in a competition. Yea, it sucks not being perfect and training hard for something only not to achieve your goal but you'd swear they were gonna get a spanking or something once they go back to the locker room.
bass4funk
Why do Japanese players go off the deep end when they lose it? This girl just went way, way overboard, and they are upset, I get it, but then they have to give an interview immediately and that doesn't help either, because they start to come unglued during the interview. That is the second one today that couldn't stop crying. I get it, she wanted to win, and they all want to win, but they all know that in competitive sports there is a chance that they could lose, nothing is EVER promised to anyone in sports, the Japanese put so much emphasis on winning that they never allow themselves that cushion of doubt and defeat is just hanging over their shoulder, so when they DO fail, they don't know how to deal with it because this is sadly a society that stresses winning and praising winners and losers and soon forgotten, thrown away like some old toy. It's not doom and gloom, she's young and she will have her chance again, and if she loses again, then it wasn't meant to be and the only thing you can do is try harder.
Mark
A lot of judgmental comments made by people who complain in front of a computer screen all day.
リッチ
Very poor sportsmenship to even delay the next match because you lost. What are the Japanese teaching their kids. This is not good behavior. Didn’t see the video yet but in sports you congratulate the winner and do all your crying outside of the eyes of anyone. Put on a game face. It’s not how you win but how you lose that shows your real nature. Shameful.
smithinjapan
She lost. So what? It's only "shocking" because Japan had already pinned the gold medal on her and counted it as part of her tally. She cried so much it delayed the next match -- whatever happened to the "stoicism" of Japanese?
ZENJI
Sport is about winning, sport is about losing.
If you lose, you were not good enough on the day.
This persons reaction to losing is not acceptable.
The over-reaction was not about her sport, not about her country, it was All About Me.
didou
Abe won in Tokyo but now, the world rankings are:
Keldiyorova : 1
Abe : 9
Keldiyorova took the gold.
Logical
Yumster100
@Mark
spot on! Comments by are so predictable as well…
CaveDweller
Uta Abe has entered the lexicon with that embarrassing lack of composure.
Don't be such an Uta Abe! Will be heard on the playgrounds around Japan.
leader_0114
I congratulate Diyora Keldiyorova, she is my compatriot. I believe in his future victories. I wish Uta Abe the best of luck as well, in sports there are also defeats.
151E
Sadly, good sportsmanship does not seem to be a widely understood concept here in Japan.
What I especially loved about Diyora Keldiyorova's performance was she went straight from the throw into a setup for an arm-bar (though she didn't seem to have Abe's head properly secured). That's the kind of judo I like to see. IMHO every throw should transition into a pin, choke or joint lock.