Judoka Kim Min-ju Claims Silver in Women's 78kg After Close Final Call

South Korean judo's heavyweight dark horse Kim Min-ju (Gwangju Transportation Corporation) has secured a silver medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Competing in the women's 78kg final at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on October 2, Kim suffered a narrow defeat to Japan's Mizuki Sugimura after picking up three shido (penalties) during a grueling golden score overtime period.

Both athletes approached the early stages of the match cautiously, each receiving a shido about 40 seconds into the contest.

Kim subsequently mounted persistent attacks utilizing her signature double-hand seoi-nage (shoulder throw).

Although she failed to score, she kept pressing the attack, but with about 20 seconds remaining in regular time, the referee penalized Kim with a shido for a false attack.

In contrast, no shido was given to Sugimura, who maintained a defensive stance throughout the match.

As the match went into overtime, Kim continued to push the offensive while Sugimura focused on defense and conserving her energy.

The referee finally issued a second shido to Sugimura for passivity roughly 1 minute and 10 seconds into overtime.

With her energy beginning to wane, Kim struggled to mount effective attacks.

Instead, she received a third shido for a false attack around the 2-minute mark in overtime, handing the victory to her opponent.


Earlier in the tournament, Kim advanced to the final by defeating Kazakhstan's Yekaterina Tokareva by ippon with a shoulder throw in the quarterfinals, and overcame Lebanon's Akulina Shayeb by waza-ari in the semifinals.

Born in January 2003, Kim graduated from Gwangju Physical Education Middle School, Gwangju Physical Education High School, and Yong In University. She began making a name for herself in December 2024 when she defeated Japan's Shori Hamada, the gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in the semifinals of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Tokyo Grand Slam.

She tasted her first grand slam victory last May at the Bari Grand Slam.

Despite being diagnosed with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament early this year requiring surgery, Kim postponed the operation to focus on rehabilitation and training with the sole goal of winning an Asian Games gold medal, ultimately producing this precious achievement.

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