Uzbekistan’s national team won a total of nine medals at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, including three gold, two silver, and four bronze. Diyora Keldiyorova’s gold medal will go down in the history of Uzbek sports as the first in the delegation’s collection, as well as the only gold medal of Uzbekistan’s female judokas at the continental games.
Diyora was born on July 13, 1998, in Samarkand and was a passionate sports enthusiast from a young age. At the age of six, she began to practice sambo and judo, and quickly began to excel in sports competitions at district, city, and regional levels. In 2013, Diyora won a bronze medal in the weight category up to 44 kilograms at the Asian Youth Games held in Nanjing, China, and in 2016 and 2018, she won bronze medals at the Asian Youth Judo Championships.
In 2016, Diyora won a silver medal at the Grand Prix tournament among adults in Tashkent and was awarded the State Prize named after Zulfiya by the president. In 2018, she participated in the 18th Summer Asian Games in Indonesia, and a year later, she won a gold medal in the up to 52 kg weight category at the Asian Judo Championships in Al-Fujairah, UAE. She also won bronze medals at the Summer Universiade in Naples and the World Military Summer Games in Wuhan, China.
In 2021, Diyora became the first Uzbek athlete to win a gold medal at a Grand Slam judo tournament in Antalya, Türkiye. She was awarded a bronze medal in the mixed team competition at the World Championships in Hungary. In 2022, she won a gold medal at the Grand Slam tournament in Baku, and also won two gold and two silver medals at Grand Slam competitions in Mongolia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates. She also secured first place in the ranking of the best judokas of the International Judo Federation.
Diyora married former judoka and current coach Azamat Matyakubov in 2021. In the same year, she won silver at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and gold and bronze at Grand Slam competitions in Georgia and Mongolia. At the ongoing Asian Games in China, Diyora won a gold medal in the up to 52 kg weight category and a silver medal in the mixed-team event.
Diyora expressed her pride and joy upon winning the gold medal, thanking her coaches and the Head of State for providing her with the necessary conditions and opportunities. She also stated that her victory motivates her to win the highest award of the Olympic Games.
Javokhir Tashkhojayev, UzA