Kim Yu-jin (Ulsan City Council), the gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, once again failed to overcome her archrival Maria Clara Pacheco of Brazil, capturing the silver medal at the World Taekwondo (WT) Grand Prix.

Kim lost 0-2 (0-5, 2-8) in round scores to Pacheco in the final of the women's 57kg division at the Muju Taekwondowon 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix, held at the T1 Arena of Taekwondowon in Muju, North Jeolla Province, today (Sept. 6).

As a result, Kim finished as the runner-up in her final competition ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Following the Rome event in June, she has claimed silver medals in both Grand Prix events held this season.

After engaging in a probing battle in the first round, Kim conceded a trunk attack and a head strike to Pacheco, losing 0-5.

In the second round, Kim again gave up the opening trunk attack and attempted a counterattack with a right back kick, but conceded another trunk attack in the meantime, falling behind 0-4.

As time went on, Kim ramped up her offensive pressure, but allowed another score to Pacheco, who exploited an open space, losing 2-8.

Against Pacheco, the WT Olympic ranking No. 1 as of September and the strongest competitor in this weight class, Kim recorded her fourth loss in as many matches.

Kim also previously lost to her in the finals of the Muju Grand Prix Challenge and the Wuxi World Championships last year, as well as the Rome Grand Prix earlier this year.

Having lost all these encounters 0-2, Kim failed to secure a single round again on this day.

Kim advanced to the final after defeating Kim Ga-hyun (Korea Gas Corporation) and Faith Dillon (USA) 2-0 each in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, followed by a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Nika Karabatić (Croatia) in the semifinals.

Kwak Min-ju (Korea National Sport University), who will compete in the upcoming Asian Games alongside Kim, earned a bronze medal after losing 0-2 to Xing Jiani (China) in the women's 67kg semifinals.

Xing Jiani claimed the championship by defeating Lena Moreno Reyes (Spain) 2-1 in the final, while Raman Turanau (Belarus) triumphed in the men's 80kg division by defeating C.J. Nicholas (USA) 2-0.

Meanwhile, Kang Jae-kwon (Samsung S-1) and Park Jae-won (Korea National Sport University) in the men's 80kg, Kim Ga-hyun and Kim Nan-hee (Kyung Hee University) in the women's 57kg, and Hong Hyo-rim (Yong In University) and Lee Ga-eun (Korea National Sport University) in the women's 67kg failed to reach the podium.

(Photo provided by World Taekwondo, Yonhap News)