▲ South Korea's Jung Ha-eun celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women's individual poomsae taekwondo event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Toyohashi Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on October 1.
Jung Ha-eun (Yongin City Hall) has captured South Korea's first gold medal in taekwondo at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Competing in the women's individual poomsae final at the Toyohashi Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on October 1, Jung received an average score of 9.3100 across recognized and free style poomsae, placing first among eight finalists.
The silver medal went to Juliana Candelaria of the Philippines with 9.1300 points, while Tittary Kaew-olarnwasu of Thailand (9.0400 points) and Yuiko Niwa of Japan (8.9100 points) claimed the bronze medals.
In the recognized poomsae Jitae, Jung scored 3.700 for accuracy and 5.620 for presentation, totaling 9.320 points.
In the free style poomsae performed to music, she earned 5.560 for technical skill and 3.740 for performance, finishing with 9.400 points.
Entering the arena while making a heart gesture toward the Taegeukgi attached to the left side of her uniform, Jung demonstrated sharp and disciplined movements in the recognized poomsae Jitae.
Drawing cheers from the audience by cleanly executing every single movement, Jung received the highest score in this category with 9.320 points.
The subsequent free style routine opened with a backward aerial spin.
After performing five mandatory techniques, Jung unleashed continuous kicks—including front kicks, roundhouse kicks, and spinning hook kicks—as the tempo of the music accelerated.
She wrapped up her performance by executing a tumbling pass followed by a stable landing.
Earlier in the semifinals, Jung advanced to the finals in first place in her group with an average score of 8.930, consisting of 9.020 in the recognized poomsae Goryeo and 8.840 in free style.
Unlike the Hangzhou Games, which used a tournament format, the poomsae events at this tournament shifted to a cut-off format where scores determine who advances to the next round.
A total of eight athletes—the top four from each of the two semifinal groups for both men and women—advanced to the finals, where they performed one recognized and one free style poomsae, with the average of the two scores deciding the medalists.
With this victory, South Korea achieved its second consecutive title in the women's individual poomsae event, following Cha Ye-eun at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
Jung, who began practicing taekwondo at age 8, embarked on her competitive career in earnest after winning a medal at a national poomsae tournament during her second year of high school.
Having collected a gold medal in the pairs event at the 2024 World Poomsae Championships and a silver medal in the individual event at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games last year, Jung rose to the top of the podium at her very first Asian Games.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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