Diyora Keldiyorova Wins Aktau Gold on Return to Judo After Motherhood

Three victories bring the Olympic champion back to the podium

Uzbekistan's Diyora Keldiyorova won gold and 100 world ranking points at the Aktau Asian Open in Kazakhstan on October 17, 2026, returning to international judo for the first time since her Olympic triumph in Paris on July 28, 2024. The 28-year-old defeated two opponents from Kazakhstan before beating Azerbaijan's Farida Mirzayeva in the final.

Uzbekistan's National Olympic Committee identified her division as women's under 52 kg, rather than the under 57 kg category stated in the initial description of her victory. The committee welcomed her return and confirmed that she finished the final before the allotted time expired.

Keldiyorova became a mother during her absence from competition. She arrived in Aktau with her family and left with a gold medal, while describing herself as a different athlete from the one who stood on top of the Olympic podium more than two years earlier.

Her three victories shared an important feature: she turned attacks from a standing position into decisive work on the mat. She won her opening two contests through submission and the final through a throw followed by a hold.

The tournament, held on October 17 and 18 in memory of Turar Zholdybayev, brought together 182 athletes from seven countries. For Keldiyorova, it provided a competitive test after months of preparation and a first step toward rebuilding her international ranking, with Los Angeles 2028 her longer term goal.

How she won each contest

Keldiyorova opened against Kazakhstan's Nurailym Sarsenbek in the quarterfinals. She scored a yuko with a dropping sleeve lifting hip throw, known in judo as sode-tsurikomi-goshi. A yuko is a smaller score than a waza-ari or ippon.

Her next attempt at the same throw produced no score, but it created a chance to continue on the ground. Keldiyorova secured juji-gatame, an arm lock, and won by ippon. An ippon ends a contest immediately.

Kazakhstan's Gulkhan Shynggyskhan faced a similar sequence in the semifinal. Keldiyorova scored yuko with the same dropping throw, then moved directly into an arm lock that forced her opponent to submit.

Mirzayeva presented the final challenge. Keldiyorova first scored yuko with ouchi-gari, a major inner leg reap. She then earned waza-ari with her dropping throw and immediately followed it with a hold that brought a second waza-ari.

Two waza-ari combine to make ippon, a result called waza-ari-awasete-ippon. That was how the final ended. All three contests finished early, although the decisive sequence against Mirzayeva differed from the submission victories in the earlier rounds.

A return shaped by motherhood

Keldiyorova's last international appearance before Aktau was the day she became Olympic champion in Paris. During the break that followed, she and her husband, Azamat Matyakubov, welcomed a daughter.

In April 2026, Keldiyorova confirmed that she had resumed individual training. She initially worked outside the national team's intensive training camps, rebuilding her physical condition before returning to competition. Her absence also included the 2026 Asian Games.

After winning in Aktau, the Olympic champion explained that she had not fully returned to her Paris form. In comments translated from Uzbek, Keldiyorova described how she now viewed herself:

Now I am different, a new Diyora, a mother.

Keldiyorova said she had stayed connected to judo during the two years away, even while spending less time in the competition environment. She wanted to enjoy the sport again, rather than measure every part of her return against her Olympic performance.

Her daughter travelled with the family to Kazakhstan. Asked whether the child understood that her mother was a champion, Keldiyorova said her daughter mainly needed her nearby, ready to hold her. Sporting recognition and family life had become two different parts of the same journey.

Abu Dhabi is the next planned test

Keldiyorova identified an event in Abu Dhabi on October 29 as her likely next appearance. Speaking after the Aktau tournament, she said the Kazakhstan competition had helped her assess her preparation and work out what needed attention.

The Olympic champion expressed surprise at winning immediately after her return. In comments translated from Russian, she said:

I am very happy that I returned after two years and won gold. Honestly, I did not expect it, but I am very happy.

Keldiyorova called the forthcoming competition the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, although it was also described as a Grand Prix. Her own wording was tentative about participation, making October 29 a planned next step rather than a confirmed appearance.

Abu Dhabi would move her return beyond the opening test in Aktau. A Grand Slam belongs to the leading international judo circuit and brings a stronger competitive challenge than an Asian Open. The change would give her another opportunity to test the timing, combinations and stamina she has been rebuilding.

What the 100 ranking points mean

Keldiyorova earned 100 points toward the world rankings with her gold medal. Those points give her a fresh result as she resumes an international schedule after a prolonged absence.

World rankings track results across eligible competitions. For an athlete returning after a break, rebuilding that record requires entering events and earning points again. Aktau supplied a concrete starting result alongside the experience of completing three competitive bouts.

Her groundwork was especially productive. Against both Kazakh opponents, a standing attack created the opening for an arm lock. Against Mirzayeva, the throw led straight into a hold. Keldiyorova repeatedly kept the action moving between the two phases of judo instead of allowing an opponent time to recover.

Los Angeles 2028 remains her stated ambition. Between now and that Olympic campaign, her immediate task is to turn this first successful appearance into a sustained return to international competition. Her own assessment of her fitness places that process at its beginning.

The Paris achievement behind the comeback

Keldiyorova won Uzbekistan's first Olympic gold medal in judo in Paris. Her route included victory over Japan's Uta Abe, the defending Olympic champion and a four-time world champion, before she defeated Kosovo's Distria Krasniqi in the final.

Abe took the lead with waza-ari in their contest, but Keldiyorova answered with an ippon. She then beat Germany's Mascha Ballhaus and France's Amandine Buchard before facing Krasniqi for gold.

Marko Spittka, the German coach who guided her during that Olympic cycle, had prepared her for the possibility of meeting Abe early. Keldiyorova later recalled his message:

Maybe first fight she will come. It doesn't matter. We have to fight.

Spittka is no longer her personal coach, but has returned to Uzbekistan's judo federation in an advisory role. Keldiyorova now begins another Olympic cycle with the experience of Paris, a new family routine and the practical challenge of rebuilding her competition schedule.

A warm welcome beyond Uzbekistan

Keldiyorova found that her Olympic success was recognised across the border in Kazakhstan. She described being approached for photographs during a visit to a cafe in Aktau, including by people who were not closely involved in sport.

The Uzbek champion said the welcome surprised her. In comments translated from Russian, she described what the reception meant:

For me it is an honour, and I am very happy. I was welcomed very warmly, and I felt at home in Kazakhstan.

Her public responsibilities had already expanded after Paris. In August 2024, she became a special representative of Uzbekistan's National Agency for Social Protection, taking on work involving gender inequality and violence against children.

Aktau brought those different parts of her life together: recognition as an Olympic champion, travel with her family and a return to representing Uzbekistan on the mat.

Azerbaijan takes eight medals on the opening day

Mirzayeva's silver was one of eight medals won by Azerbaijan on the first day, according to the Azerbaijan Judo Federation. The team collected four silvers and four bronzes.

The other Azerbaijani silver medallists were Nazim Talibov at 66 kg, Kamran Suleymanov at 73 kg and Ulviya Bayramova in the women's 57 kg division. Gulnara Bayramova also won bronze at 57 kg, while Mirzayeva's final against Keldiyorova belonged to the separate 52 kg category.

Uzbekistan had another 24 team members competing for medals at the tournament. Keldiyorova's victory therefore came within a broader national team appearance at the event, which continued through October 18.

Her return can be followed through four dates:

• July 28, 2024: Keldiyorova wins Olympic gold in Paris, her last international appearance before the break.
• April 2026: She confirms that she has resumed individual training.
• October 17, 2026: She wins three contests and gold in Aktau.
• October 29, 2026: She identifies Abu Dhabi as her likely next competition.

Key Points

• Diyora Keldiyorova won the women's under 52 kg title at the Aktau Asian Open on October 17, earning 100 world ranking points.
• She defeated Kazakhstan's Nurailym Sarsenbek and Gulkhan Shynggyskhan before beating Azerbaijan's Farida Mirzayeva in the final.
• All three victories came before time expired, with the final decided by two waza-ari combining for ippon.
• Aktau was her first international appearance since Paris 2024 and her first since becoming a mother.
• She named Abu Dhabi on October 29 as her likely next tournament, with Los Angeles 2028 her longer term goal.