Korean judo athlete Lee Jun-hwan (Pohang City Hall) was unable to reach the finals in the men's 81kg category at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On October 1, at the Aichi International Arena in Japan, Lee faced Japan's Fujihara Sotaro in the semifinals, where he lost by a half-point after a closely contested match that went into golden score.
Lee started strong, scoring a half-point just 20 seconds into the match. However, after a review, the point was canceled, and Fujihara was awarded a penalty. The two competitors continued to grapple evenly, but neither could secure a victory within the regular four minutes.
In the extension, Lee gained an advantage when Fujihara received a second penalty after one minute and four seconds. With one more penalty, Lee could have advanced to the finals. However, he was unable to execute a decisive technique against the defensively strong Fujihara, and at three minutes and 24 seconds into the extension, Lee received a penalty. Ultimately, he lost by a half-point after over four minutes of extra time.
Earlier in the competition, Lee dominated Laos' Sulisai Sayasan in the round of 16, winning by ippon in just 44 seconds. He then secured a half-point victory over Hong Kong's Li Guo-ying in the quarterfinals. However, his semifinal loss means his goal of winning a gold medal at his first international multi-sport event will have to wait for another opportunity.
Lee, who won a silver medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics, will now compete for bronze against Iran's Elias Parhizgar.
In the women's 63kg category, Kim Ji-soo (Gyeongbuk Sports Council) also advanced to the bronze medal match. Kim lost to Kazakhstan's Esmigul Kyuylova by ippon in the quarterfinals but rebounded in the repechage, defeating China's Zhang Yuan with a half-point followed by an ankle throw.
Kim will face Mongolia's Lkhagvadorj Enkhriilen for the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, in the men's 73kg category, Ahn Jae-hong (Namyangju City Hall) was eliminated after losing to Uzbekistan's Shahram Ahadov by a half-point in the quarterfinals and then falling to Mongolia's Enkhdul Lkhama in the repechage.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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