AG Bronze Medalist Moon Jin-ho Wins Second Consecutive World Taekwondo Grand Prix Title in 68kg Division

Moon Jin-ho (Korea National Sport University), a leading figure in South Korea's taekwondo generational shift, has washed away the disappointment of winning a bronze medal at the Asian Games by capturing his second consecutive gold medal at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

The 2007-born rising star defeated Uzbekistan's Nazhmiddin Kosimkhojayev with a round score of 2-0 in the men's 68kg final on the second day of the 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series held at the Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan in Levallois-Perret, near Paris, France, on October 10 (local time).

This is South Korea's first gold medal of the tournament.

Additionally, following his victory at the Muju competition last month, Moon claimed the World Taekwondo Grand Prix title for the second consecutive time, maintaining his No. 1 spot in the World Taekwondo (WT) Olympic ranking for this weight class.

Although he had to settle for a bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games earlier this month, where he competed for the first time in his life amid high expectations, he conquered the World Taekwondo Grand Prix once again to keep alive his bigger dream of an Olympic gold medal.

Facing Kosimkhojayev, a world-class powerhouse and the winner of the men's 74kg division at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, Moon subdued his opponent by utilizing his height of 192 centimeters and long legs for attacks.

In a tightly contested first round tied at 12-12, Moon precisely struck his opponent's trunk just before the end of the round to narrowly take it 14-12.

In the second round, he checked his opponent's approach with his long legs while steadily accumulating points whenever attacking opportunities arose, securing a clean-sheet victory to clinch the championship.

Following his victory, Moon shared his thoughts through World Taekwondo, saying, "I prepared really hard for the Asian Games, but the results didn't meet my expectations, which left me very disappointed and sad. I resolved to do well again in Paris and prepared accordingly, so I am glad to have achieved a good result."

He added, "I will train harder with the goal of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final coming up in November and supplement my shortcomings. I want to definitely win the final to defend my No. 1 Olympic ranking, win the world championships next year as well to advance to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as world No. 1, and even win the gold medal."

In the preceding semifinals, Moon advanced to the final after a close match, defeating Jang Jun (Korea Gas Corporation) with a round score of 2-1.

Jang Jun added a bronze medal.

On the other hand, Hong Hyo-rim (Yong In University), Kwak Min-ju, and Lee Ga-eun (both from Korea National Sport University), who competed in the women's 67kg division, all failed to win medals.

South Korea has harvested one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal so far as of this day.

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