Wrestler Jeong Han-jae Suffers Comeback Loss in Quarters... Kim Min-seok Also Defeated in Round of 16

South Korean wrestling hopeful Jeong Han-jae (Suwon City Hall) failed to cross the threshold of the quarterfinals.

Jeong lost 4-5 in a comeback defeat to Meirzhan Shermakhanbet of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals of the men's Greco-Roman 67kg division at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Inae Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan, on the 30th.

Jeong's advancement to the bronze medal match will depend on whether Shermakhanbet reaches the final.

Jeong won a silver medal in the men's Greco-Roman 60kg division at the 2023 Asian Championships and a bronze medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. He subsequently adjusted his weight classes, competing in both the non-Olympic 63kg and the Olympic 67kg divisions.

Having also won consecutive bronze medals at the Asian Championships in 2024 and 2025, Jeong claimed a silver medal in the men's Greco-Roman 63kg division at the United World Wrestling (UWW) World Championships in September of last year.

Earlier in the day, Jeong defeated Son Man-gwang of North Korea in the round of 16.

After finishing the match tied at 3-3, he won based on the criteria prioritizing the latest point scored.

Kim Min-seok (Suwon City Hall), a leading figure in the men's Greco-Roman 130kg division, was defeated by Rafael Cicuashvili of Uzbekistan in the round of 16.

The result came after finishing their round of 16 match tied at 1-1, applying the first-point-advantage rule for specific scoring situations.

Kim, who previously won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships, five medals across five Asian Championships, and a bronze medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, had expressed extraordinary determination to win a gold medal at this tournament, but unfortunately fell short of his goal.

Kim's path to the bronze medal match will similarly depend on whether Cicuashvili advances to the final.

In men's Greco-Roman wrestling matches that end in a tie, the rule prioritizing the latest scorer based on technical point advantages is applied, except for matches ending 1-1, which instead apply the first-point-advantage rule.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.