South Korea's premier heavyweight judoka Lee Hyun-ji (Yong In University) has secured a silver medal in her debut appearance at the Asian Games.

On October 2, Lee lost to China's Liu Xinlan by ippon via an outer leg sweep (battadari-geori) in the final of the women's +78kg judo event at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan.

Lee dominated the early stages of the match with an aggressive offensive display.

About 40 seconds into the match, she took her opponent down with her right foot, prompting the referee to issue a shido (penalty) to Liu.

With approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds remaining on the clock, she gained a yuko advantage with an outer leg sweep, taking the upper hand.

However, her left arm was subsequently caught, and she was thrown to the mat by Liu's outer leg sweep, resulting in an ippon call.

Earlier in the day, Lee defeated Thailand's Tontan Satjadet in the quarterfinals by ippon via a hip sweep (heuri-hurigi) in just six seconds, and advanced to the final by overcoming Japan's Mukunoki Miki with a yuko victory via an outer leg sweep, raising hopes for a gold medal.

However, she fell short at the final hurdle.

Born in 2007, Lee is the daughter of Lee Chi-hoon, executive managing director of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Ssireum Association and a former ssireum (traditional Korean wrestling) athlete. She became the youngest national team member during her freshman year at Namnyeong High School and has continued to shine as a rising star.

She made a name for herself by winning the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Junior Judo Championships in 2024, and claimed titles at various competitions last year during her senior debut season.

She earned her spot on the Asian Games national team after defeating national team senior Kim Ha-yun (Ansan City Hall), a world championship medalist and the champion of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

(Photo: Yonhap News)