Judoka Lee Jun-hwan defeats world No. 1 to win bronze medal in men’s 81kg category | Dong-A Ilbo

South Korean judo star Lee Joon-hwan (22) won a bronze medal in his first Olympic Games. Lee won the bronze medal by defeating world No. 1 Matthias Cassel (27, Belgium) in the men’s 81kg judo competition at the Paris Olympics held at the Arena de Ares in Paris, France on the 30th local time. 1 player won half a victory in this weight class. This is the first medal won by the Korean men’s judo team in this competition. In this weight class, it has been 12 years since Kim Jae-bum, the gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, won a valuable medal again. Lee ranks third in the world in this weight class.

Lee Jun-hwan, who won a thigh kick in the round of 16 and a shoulder kick in the quarterfinals, gave up a half pass at the end of the golden score (overtime) and gave up Tato Grigalashvili (25th, Georgia), the world No. 2 player in the weight class, in the semifinals. He was disappointed with his failure to defeat Grigalashvili, who defeated him in the semifinals of the World Championships for two consecutive years.

Lee Joon-hwan, who was very proud, continued to fight fiercely with Kase in the bronze medal match. Lee Joon-hwan, who entered the gold medal, won half a point with a heel walk in 48 seconds in overtime and won the bronze medal. After confirming his victory, Lee Joon-hwan lowered his head on the mat and shed tears. He also hugged the head coach of the men’s national team, Hwang Hee-tae, and wiped away his tears. Lee Joon-hwan defeated Kase to win the Tokyo Grand Slam last year.

Lee Joon-hwan has participated in various sports such as taekwondo, swimming, and boxing since he was a child. He started practicing judo at a local gymnasium when he was in the third grade of elementary school. It is said that his father encouraged him to learn judo to prevent him from going out and getting beaten. Lee Joon-hwan won the Gyeonggi Province competition two months after starting judo and was awarded a bag of rice. While at Uijeongbu Gyeongmin High School, he won two gold medals in the High School League competition, knocking out opponents weighing more than 100 kilograms not only in his own weight group but also in the unlimited weight group.

Lee Jun-hwan, who entered the adult category in 2022, surprised the judo world by winning two games in a row, from the Grand Slam in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he made his debut, to the Grand Slam in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. At that time, the IJF announced the news of Lee Jun-hwan’s victory, saying, “The speed is very fast. He also introduced Lee Jun-hwan as “the lightning of Korea,” saying, “a player who can win the game before his name is introduced.” Since then, Lee Jun-hwan has continued to stand on the podium, winning consecutive bronze medals at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships. Last year, he won second place at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Kim Ji-soo (24), a 63kg female competitor, was eliminated in the repechage round due to a chokehold. Kim Ji-soo, a Korean who lives in Japan and has participated in two consecutive Olympic Games, challenged herself by moving up a weight class in this competition. Kim Ji-soo, who was eliminated in the round of 16 in Tokyo, made it to the quarterfinals in Paris.

Born and raised in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, Kim Ji-su began practicing judo in the first grade of elementary school, following her father, Kim Deok-je (a judoka). The father, who had experienced considerable discrimination in Japanese society, transformed the family warehouse into a training center to teach his daughter judo, saying, “You have to protect your body.” He rose to fame by winning his first national competition in the fifth grade of elementary school. He also had experience winning individual and team national competitions at the Olympic Stadium Nippon Budokan in the second year of high school. Kim Ji-su has been wearing the Tai Chi logo since 2017, and began his full-fledged athletic career in South Korea after graduating from high school. Following my grandfather and father’s hometown (Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province), my team was decided to be the Gyeongbuk Sports Committee.

Paris = Reporter Kang Hong-gu Windup@donga.com