So Close! Lee Hyun-ji Settles for Silver After Heartbreaking Comeback Defeat

[Anchor]

It was a frustrating day for the national judo team, missing out on gold twice when victory was within their grasp. 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 gaining 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 to swiftly wrap up the victory, and she advanced to the finals by overwhelmingly overpowering her Japanese opponent in the semifinals as well.

Even in the final against China's Xu Xinran—against whom she had lost all three previous encounters—she launched a relentless offensive from the early stages, securing a yuko with an outer leg sweep (batdari geolgi) one minute and 20 seconds in.

Gold seemed to be right before her eyes, but a single mistake tripped her up moments later.

With her left arm gripped, her body was thrown by the opponent's outer leg sweep, resulting in an ippon call.

Having let the championship slip away in disbelief, Lee had to settle for a silver medal in her first Asian Games.

[Lee Hyun-ji / National Judo Team Member: I think I just lost because I wasn't good enough. I studied the Chinese athlete a lot, but since I couldn't win today, I will definitely beat her next time.]

Kim Min-ju of the women's 78kg division, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament early this year but postponed surgery to compete on the Asian Games stage, also shed tears of regret.

After a grueling battle extending into golden score against her Japanese opponent in the final, she burst into tears after missing out on the gold medal in anti-climactic fashion by receiving her third shido for a false attack.

Kim Min-jong in the men's over-100kg division—a Paris Olympics silver medalist and favored for the title—along with Kim Jong-hun in the 90kg division and Han Ju-yeop in the under-100kg division, each claimed bronze medals.

The South Korean judo team will make one final bid for a gold throw in the mixed team event tomorrow (the 3rd).

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In men's boxing, where the team sought its first gold medal in 12 years, Jang Dong-hwan in the 60kg division and Kim Min-sung in the 80kg division both failed to clear the final hurdle, each taking home silver.

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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 added only two bronze medals, denting the pride of the sport's birthplace.

(Camera filming: Park Hyun-cheol, Video editing: Lee Jae-sung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.