South Korean women's judo rising star Jang Se-yun (KH Philux) has advanced to the final after defeating a Japanese opponent backed by one-sided home support.

Today (the 30th), in the semifinals of the women's 52kg judo event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, Jang claimed a victory by hansoku-make (penalty) following a fierce golden score extra time battle against Japan's Kokoro Fujishiro.

Having secured at least a silver medal, Jang now has just one final match remaining in her pursuit of her first-ever Asian Games gold medal.

The match against Fujishiro, who held the home mat advantage, unfolded as a tight battle of nerves.

During the regulation time of four minutes, both athletes engaged in a fierce contest, trading two shido (penalties) each without scoring, sending the match into a golden score period.

The one who smiled at the end was Jang Se-yun.

After extra time began, Jang relentlessly pressured her opponent with relentless attacks showing no signs of fatigue.

Eventually, 2 minutes and 54 seconds into the golden score period, a desperate Fujishiro attempted a false attack, and the referee issued a third shido to Fujishiro, sealing Jang's thrilling victory.

Having previously defeated Sabira Kozomberdieva (Kyrgyzstan) by ippon in just 16 seconds in the Round of 16 and subdued Xu Xiaoyu (China) with a clean ippon win 46 seconds before the end of the quarterfinals, Jang cleared her biggest hurdle by smartly navigating the South Korea-Japan semifinal match as well.

Jang's final will take place as the ninth match following the bronze medal matches and finals starting at 5:00 PM at the same venue.

(Photo: Yonhap News)