▲ South Korea's Lee Jun-hwan competes against Iran's Elyas Farhizgar in the bronze medal match of the men's -81kg judo event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on October 1.
National judo team member Lee Jun-hwan (Pohang City Hall) has claimed a valuable bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Today, October 1, at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, Lee defeated Iran's Elyas Farhizgar by ippon using a knee-wheel armlock (mune-gatame / ude-hishigi-juji-gatame equivalent context) after a grueling golden score overtime period in the men's 81kg bronze medal match.
Having won a silver medal at the previous 2022 Hangzhou Games, Lee successfully secured a medal in two consecutive Asian Games.
Earlier today in the semifinals, Lee narrowly missed a spot in the finals after conceding a waza-ari via inner thigh sweep (uchimata) to Japan's Sotaro Fujiwara during a hard-fought golden score overtime period.
Advancing to the bronze medal match, Lee initially struggled by falling behind in the gripping battle during the early stages of the bout.
However, he began to seize control of the match when his opponent received a shido (penalty) for an illegal armlock maneuver with 1 minute and 49 seconds remaining in regulation.
Having taken the initiative, Lee created an advantageous situation by exchanging penalties with his opponent with 1 minute and 19 seconds left on the clock.
With 40 seconds remaining, Lee attempted a drop seoi-nage (shoulder throw), though it did not result in a score.
The match ultimately went into golden score overtime.
Lee appeared to have lost after conceding a yuko just 17 seconds into overtime, but he was dramatically revived when the decision was overturned following a video review.
Seizing the opportunity, Lee executed a knee-wheel armlock attempt at 1 minute and 7 seconds, forcing an ippon to secure the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Kim Ji-su (Gyeongbuk Sports Council) of the women's 63kg class missed out on a medal after conceding an ippon via rear foot sweep (sokuto-gari / kosoto-gake equivalent context) to Mongolia's Lkhagvatogoogiin Enkhriilen following a tough overtime battle in their bronze medal match.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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