Lee Jun-hwan (Pohang City Hall) of South Korea won a bronze medal in the men's 81kg judo category at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, marking his second consecutive medal at the Asian Games.
On October 1, at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Lee faced Elias Farhizgar of Iran in the bronze medal match, securing victory with a decisive win in golden score after a knee drop technique.
The path to the bronze medal was challenging. Lee engaged in a fierce grappling contest with Farhizgar early in the match. With 1 minute and 49 seconds remaining, Farhizgar received a penalty for an arm lock, and 30 seconds later, both competitors were penalized with one warning each. Lee attempted a throw with 40 seconds left but failed to score.
As the match ended without a decision, it moved to golden score. Just 17 seconds into the extension, Lee faced a potential loss when he allowed a valid point to Farhizgar. However, after a video review, the scoring decision was overturned, allowing the match to continue.
Overcoming the crisis, Lee concluded the match 1 minute and 7 seconds into the extension, securing the bronze medal with a knee drop technique.
Earlier in the competition, Lee dominated Sayasan of Laos in the round of 16, winning in just 44 seconds, and defeated Li Kwok-wing of Hong Kong in the quarterfinals in 2 minutes, advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, he faced Fujihara Sota of Japan, where the match extended to golden score, but he lost after giving up a half point in 4 minutes and 17 seconds.
With this bronze medal, Lee has now earned medals in two consecutive Asian Games. He previously won a silver medal in the men's 81kg category at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and aims for a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This latest achievement continues his streak of individual medals in three recent international competitions.
Meanwhile, in the women's 63kg category, Kim Ji-soo (Gyeongbuk Sports Council) lost in the bronze medal match to Enkhriilen Lkhagvadorj of Mongolia after a golden score, failing to secure a medal.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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