▲ Kim Yu-jin
South Korean taekwondo star Kim Yu-jin (Ulsan City Council), who set out to conquer the Asian Games following her triumph at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finished her tournament run after suffering a defeat to Zhang Quling of China in the quarterfinals.
Kim lost 0-2 (5-9, 8-14) in round scores to Zhang in the women's 57kg taekwondo kyorugi quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held today (the 3rd) at the Toyohashi General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, failing to advance to the semifinals.
After easily defeating Kashish Malik (India) 2-0 in the previous round of 16, Kim stumbled in her second match.
In the first round of the quarterfinals, Kim took a 2-0 lead with a body attack, but allowed an equalizer with 25 seconds remaining.
She subsequently conceded consecutive body and head attacks, and although she chased back by successfully landing a late head attack, she lost the first round 5-9.
In the second round, she maintained the lead through a body attack and an opponent's penalty, but the match was turned around following a fierce late slugfest and a video review.
Initially, it was ruled that Kim had been grabbed by the hand when Zhang landed two head attacks, but China's request for a video review was accepted, ruling that there was no grabbing foul, which instantly resulted in an 8-12 reversal.
Unable to turn the tide, Kim conceded two more points from late penalties and lost the second round 8-14.
Meeting reporters in the mixed zone after the match, Kim shed tears and calmly said, "I didn't do well, and my opponent played well. Whatever I say sounds like an excuse."
Regarding the situation in the second round, she stated, "It is true that I was hit in the head twice."
Zhang Quling, who won a bronze medal in the women's 53kg division at the Wuxi World Championships last year and claimed gold in the women's 57kg division at the Belgium Open in March this year, was an opponent Kim had personally singled out as a major threat ahead of the tournament.
Kim previously lost 0-2 in round scores to Zhang in the semifinals of the Chuncheon Korea Open last year to settle for a bronze medal, but took revenge by winning 2-1 in the final of the Bangkok Grand Prix Challenge in November of the same year to capture the gold medal.
However, with this defeat in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games, she fell behind in their head-to-head record with 1 win and 2 losses.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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