At the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, South Korean heavyweight judoka Lee Hyeonji and dark-horse contender Kim Minju advanced to their respective division finals on October 2, securing at least silver medals for their delegations at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, according to tournament records.
Lee Hyeonji Secures Final Berth in the Over-78kg Division
Lee Hyeonji advanced to the women’s 78-kilogram-plus division final after defeating Japan’s Mukonoki Miki with a waza-ari score in the semifinals. Utilizing her physical stature to control the pace of the match, Lee secured the decisive waza-ari via an o-soto-gari throw with just one minute and one second remaining on the clock. Earlier in the tournament, Lee booked her spot in the medal rounds by defeating Thailand’s Thonthan Satjadet with an ippon in the quarterfinals.
Kim Minju Reaches the 78kg Final via Two Waza-Ari Throws
In the women’s 78-kilogram division, Kim Minju secured her place in the gold medal match by defeating Lebanon’s Aquilina Chayeb. Kim earned two consecutive waza-ari scores using seoi-nage and kata-guruma techniques at 2 minutes 30 seconds and 40 seconds remaining in the match, respectively, sealing a hard-fought victory.
South Korean Men’s Contenders Pushed to Bronze Medal Bouts
While the women advanced for gold, South Korea’s male judokas faced difficult semifinal losses on the same day at the Aichi International Arena. Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist Kim Minjong, widely considered a gold-medal favorite in the over-100kg division, was defeated in the quarterfinals by Uzbekistan’s Muzaffarbek Turoboyev via an ippon executed with a ko-soto-gari. Kim Minjong subsequently rebounded in the repechage, defeating Kazakhstan’s Yerasyl Kazhybayev by ippon with an uchi-mata to advance to the bronze medal match.
In the men’s 90kg division, Kim Jonghun fell to Japan’s Okada Riku by ippon via an uchi-mata in the semifinals. Meanwhile, 100kg competitor Han Juyeop dropped his semifinal bout after Tajikistan’s Jahongir Majidov secured a waza-ari via a sukui-nage throw. Both Kim Jonghun and Han Juyeop will now compete in the upcoming bronze medal contests.
Next Scheduled Bouts at the Aichi International Arena
The medal matches for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games judo tournament are scheduled to resume at the Aichi International Arena, where Lee Hyeonji and Kim Minju will contest their respective finals, and Kim Minjong, Han Juyeop, and Kim Jonghun will enter the bronze medal brackets.
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