The bronze medalist of the Tokyo Olympics, a judoka from Kazakhstan Yeldos Smetov returned to his homeland. Relatives, friends and fans met the athlete. Yeldos confidently made it to the semifinals and lost by a small margin to the two-time world champion Naohisa Takato from Japan.
“I think that for me, the Olympics were successful. I fought for victory to the end. Bronze is a success too. My medal is an achievement of the whole country. I am grateful to everyone for supporting me,” Smetov said.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
