Granddaughter of Independence Fighter Heo Mi-mi Wins Gold, Raising Taegeukgi to the Highest Peak

[Anchor]

At the Asian Games judo competition, Heo Mi-mi, a Korean-Japanese resident and descendant of independence fighter Heo Seok, captured the first gold medal for the women's 57kg division. She raised the South Korean national flag to the highest place in Japan, where she was born and raised.

Reporter Ha Seong-ryong has the story from Nagoya.


[Reporter]

Twenty-three-year-old Heo Mi-mi, a silver medalist at the Paris Olympics, started her Asian Games debut in explosive fashion.

In the round of 16, she scored a waza-ari with a lightning-fast seoi-nage (shoulder throw) against her Filipino opponent, added another waza-ari with a hold-down, and secured an ippon victory in just 28 seconds.

In the quarterfinals against a Chinese competitor, she also secured an ippon win via hold-down in 1 minute and 30 seconds. Having spent less than two minutes total across her first two matches, she faced a perilous moment in the semifinals.

Her left arm was twisted by a dangerous foul from her Uzbek opponent, causing her to complain of pain. Fortunately, she avoided a major injury and advanced via a disqualification win.

[Heo Mi-mi / National Judo Team Member: My arm was underneath and got twisted, but I managed to hold out enough not to get too badly hurt, so I think I'm okay.]

She was relentless in the final as well.

After scoring a yuko with a leg sweep (soto-makikomi/uchi-mata style sweep) against her Mongolian opponent in just 10 seconds, she claimed the gold medal following a one-sided match.

Standing atop the podium at her first major competition since undergoing shoulder surgery last year, Heo hugged coach Jung Sung-sook and burst into tears.

[Heo Mi-mi / National Judo Team Member: I didn't cry~ I had surgery on my shoulder, and because I had doubts about whether I could climb back to the top, I worried a lot. But since I was able to win the gold medal, I didn't cry—well, I almost shed a few tears.]

Naturalized five years ago as a Korean-Japanese resident in accordance with her late grandmother's dying wish for her to wear the Taegeuk mark, Heo experienced the extraordinary emotion of hearing the South Korean national anthem in Japan, the birthplace of judo where she grew up.

[Heo Mi-mi / National Judo Team Member: Because my grandmother said those words, I made that choice [to naturalize], and I am living very happily. When [the national anthem] actually played, I felt like I was going to cry a bit, but I think I did well [singing along].]

She also kept her promise to bring a gold medal to the grave of her great-great-grandfather and independence fighter, Heo Seok, whose grave she had visited with her silver medal after the Paris Olympics.

[Heo Mi-mi / National Judo Team Member: Since I won the gold medal this time, I suppose I can take it to [his grave] in high spirits.]

Heo will now challenge for her second gold medal of the competition in the mixed team event taking place tomorrow.

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In the men's 81kg division, Lee Joon-hwan secured an ippon victory over his Iranian opponent in the bronze medal match, standing on the podium for the second consecutive time following his silver medal in Hangzhou.

(Video Journalist: Park Hyun-chul, Video Editor: Park Ki-deok, Design: Yang Gi-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.