'Judo Semifinalist' An Changrim, Thrilling Half-Point Victory After 3 Consecutive Overtimes

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] An Chang-rim (27, KH Group Philux), a third-generation Korean-Japanese judo national representative, advanced to the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics by leveraging his strong stamina.

On the 26th, An Chang-rim defeated Tohar Butbul (Israel) by waza-ari in the men's 73kg quarterfinals held at the Tokyo Chiyoda Ward Budokan, advancing to the semifinals. Having gone through both the round of 32 and round of 16 with golden score matches, An Chang-rim again failed to produce a result during the regular 4-minute time. Early in the overtime, An Chang-rim attempted two consecutive seoi-nage throws to turn the momentum. He continued to fight fiercely with counter throws and seoi-nage techniques, and at 2 minutes and 26 seconds, he successfully executed an an-uchi gari technique, earning a waza-ari score.

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