North Korea Seeks to Strike Gold in Wrestling, Grabs Silver on Opening Day in Women's 68kg

North Korea, competing in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, has secured its first medal in wrestling, another traditionally strong event for the country.

Pak Sol-gum (20) of the North Korean wrestling national team claimed a silver medal after losing 2 to 7 to host nation Japan's Ami Ishii in the women's 68kg wrestling final held today at the Inae Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan.

Pak, who had displayed dominant form earlier in the day by crushing South Korea's Park Hyun-young 11 to 0 in the quarterfinals, conceded the opening point to Ishii in the final and struggled to find opportunities to catch up, ultimately falling short.

North Korea, which holds a notable presence on the international wrestling stage, is widely evaluated as aiming to capture multiple gold medals at this competition.

While North Korea failed to win a single wrestling medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, it began showing gradual prominence in the late 2010s, rising to world-class level by winning 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Games held three years ago, the country took home 1 gold, 3 silvers, and 3 bronzes, and at last year's World Championships, it secured 3 golds, 2 silvers, and 2 bronzes, finishing 4th overall behind Japan, Iran, and the United States.

Prior to this competition, the total number of wrestling medals North Korea had won across past Asian Games stood at 37, including 8 gold medals.

North Korea has dispatched nine elite athletes to this tournament, including Han Chong-song, who ranks No. 1 globally in the men's freestyle 57kg wrestling division.

During the final match held today for the first gold medal, dozens of Zainichi Korean supporters wearing red t-shirts chanted slogans such as "Sure-Victory Joseon, Pak Sol-gum!"

Fellow athletes and officials, including North Korean delegation head Pak Chun-jong, also cheered on Pak Sol-gum by waving the North Korean flag from the stands.

The cheers for Pak Sol-gum were loud enough to overpower the volume of the host nation's supporters.

Pak, who presented the North Korean delegation with its first wrestling medal of this competition, previously finished 5th in the same weight class at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

She has been regarded as a promising medal prospect in North Korea, with her performances in international competitions such as the Asian Championships reported multiple times recently through the Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency.

With Pak's silver medal, North Korea currently sits in 10th place in the interim overall standings as of today, with 7 gold medals, 6 silver medals, and 7 bronze medals.

All of North Korea's gold medals thus far have come from the sport of weightlifting.

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