Korean men's boxing reached the finals for the first time in 12 years, but fell short of winning gold. Nonetheless, the tournament showcased potential for the future.
On October 2, Jang Dong-hwan lost to Uzbekistan's Abdumalik Halokov 0-5 in the men's 60kg final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Nishio Gymnasium. Halokov, ranked number one in the world in this weight class, previously won gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in the 57kg category. Jang struggled against Halokov's experienced tactics throughout the match.
After the match, Jang told reporters, "I originally planned to lure my opponent in the first round and use outboxing, but he was too quick and had long arms, so it didn't work. He skillfully prevented me from throwing punches with his clinching. He definitely showed the composure and sense of an Olympic champion." He added, "I changed to the 60kg weight class and hadn't won a single match in two years, but reaching the finals in this tournament gave me a lot of confidence. I was very upset and cried a lot because I couldn't win in the end."
Kim Min-seong also faced disappointment in the men's 80kg final, losing 0-4 to India's Ankush. Only a judge from Uzbekistan scored the match in Kim's favor. However, due to point deductions, the final score from the Uzbek judge was recorded as 28-28, a tie. Unlike Jang, who faced a top-ranked opponent, Kim lost to a similarly ranked competitor, leaving him with regrets.
Kim expressed, "I thought I would win, so I'm very disappointed. I think I became complacent after defeating several favorites since the preliminaries. I underestimated my opponent, which led to my loss." He also apologized, saying, "It's been 12 years since two Korean boxers reached the finals, and many people supported us, but we couldn't show our best performances."
Korean men's boxing has struggled to secure gold medals at the Asian Games for an extended period. The last golds were won by Shin Jong-hoon (49kg) and Ham Sang-myung (56kg) at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. However, this tournament marked a recovery from the disappointing performance at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, where the only medal was a bronze by Jeong Jae-min (92kg).
Amid these circumstances, Jang Dong-hwan and Kim Min-seong demonstrated their potential. Both are young athletes, born in 2004 and 2005, respectively. If they continue to hone their skills, they could achieve great results at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2030 Doha Asian Games.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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