South Korean weightlifters Won Jong-beom (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office) and Kim Sung-min (Gyeongsangnam-do Office) fell short of winning medals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On September 28, at the Nagoya Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Hall in Aichi Prefecture, Won attempted to lift 170kg in all three attempts in the men's 95kg final but was unable to succeed, resulting in him not reaching the podium.
Ranked second in the world, Won had high expectations after winning the overall title at the World Championships for two consecutive years (2023-2024). However, he ended his Asian Games journey without a medal, following a similar outcome at the Hangzhou Games.
Kim Sung-min also competed on the same day in the men's 85kg final A group, finishing sixth with a lift of 155kg in the snatch, 196kg in the clean and jerk, and a total of 351kg. The gold medal in this category went to North Korea's Ro Kwang-ryol, who lifted 165kg in the snatch, 214kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 379kg.
North Korean weightlifting has achieved a total of seven gold medals in this competition, including victories by Park Myung-jin in the men's 65kg, Ri Won-joo in the men's 70kg, and several female lifters including Ri Sung-kum in the women's 49kg, Kang Hyun-kyung in the women's 53kg, O Gwang-ok in the women's 57kg, and Song Guk-hyang in the women's 77kg, along with Ro Kwang-ryol.
In contrast, South Korea's weightlifting team had previously secured one gold, two silver, and three bronze medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, but has yet to win any medals in this tournament.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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