[Anchor]
The national judo team had a disappointing day, missing out on gold medals that were within their grasp not once, but twice. In particular, Lee Hyun-ji suffered a heartbreaking comeback defeat in the closing moments of the women's over-78kg final.
Reporting from Nagoya, this is Han Sung-hee.
[Reporter]
Nineteen-year-old Lee Hyun-ji, a rising star in the women's over-78kg division who has been garnering global attention, showcased overwhelming dominance right from her Asian Games debut.
In the quarterfinals, she slammed her Thai opponent onto the mat just seven seconds after the match began, quickly wrapping up the victory. She also overwhelmingly pressured her Japanese opponent in the semifinals to secure her ticket to the final.
Even in the final against China's Xu Xinlan—against whom she had lost all three of her previous head-to-head encounters—she launched a relentless offensive from the early stages, scoring a yuko with an outer leg sweep (badari-gorugi) one minute and 20 seconds into the match.
A gold medal seemed right before her eyes, but a single mistake moments later tripped her up.
With her left arm gripped, her body was thrown by her opponent's outer leg sweep, resulting in an ippon call.
Left empty-handed of the title, Lee Hyun-ji had to settle for a silver medal in her first Asian Games.
[Lee Hyun-ji/National Judo Athlete: I think I lost simply because I fell short. I studied the Chinese athlete a lot, but since I couldn't beat her today, I will definitely beat her next time.]
Kim Min-ju of the women's 78kg division, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament earlier this year but postponed surgery to compete on the Asian Games stage, also shed tears of regret.
After a fierce battle that went into extra time during the final against her Japanese opponent, she burst into tears after blankly missing out on the gold medal upon receiving her third shido for a false attack.
Kim Min-jong in the men's over-100kg division—a Paris Olympics silver medalist and considered a favorite for the title—along with Kim Jong-hoon in the 90kg division and Han Joo-yup in the under-100kg division, each claimed bronze medals.
The South Korean judo team will challenge for a final "golden throw" tomorrow (October 3) in the mixed team event.
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The men's boxing team, aiming for a gold medal for the first time in 12 years, both failed to clear the final hurdle as Jang Dong-hwan in the 60kg division and Kim Min-sung in the 80kg division each had to settle for silver medals.
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In taekwondo, Ahn Hyang-shik in the men's 58kg division and Kwak Min-ju in the women's 67kg division were limited to adding two bronze medals, dealing a blow to the pride of the sport's birthplace.
(Video by Park Hyun-cheol | Video Editing by Lee Jae-sung)
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