▲ South Korea's Kim Min-ju competes against Kazakhstan's Yekaterina Tokareva in the women's -78kg quarterfinals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on October 2.
South Korean women's judo heavyweight dark horse Kim Min-ju (Gwangju Transportation Corporation) has advanced to the final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, securing at least a silver medal.
Kim defeated Akulina Shayev of Lebanon by yuko in the semifinals of the women's 78kg event at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on October 2.
About 20 seconds into the match, after both judokas received a shido (penalty), Kim engaged in an active gripping battle. She took the advantage with a yuko score using a shoulder throw (seoi-nage-style shoulder technique) with 2 minutes and 30 seconds remaining on the clock.
Focusing on defense thereafter, she secured a second yuko with a seoinage (ippon-seoinage style) with 40 seconds left in the match.
Her opponent showed signs of fatigue, and Kim successfully ran down the remaining time to seal her victory.
The final is scheduled to take place in the afternoon.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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