[Asian Games] Kim Ha-yoon Wins First Judo Gold Medal... Women's 78kg Class Champion

Kim Ha-yoon (23, Ansan City Hall), the leading female heavyweight judoka of the national judo team, won the first gold medal in judo by defeating a Chinese athlete from the host country at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

On the 26th, Kim Ha-yoon won the women's over 78kg final at the Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, by defeating China's Xu Siyuan with a waza-ari victory.

In the women's over 78kg judo final at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Kim Ha-yoon defeated China's Xu Siyuan.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, in the quarterfinals, Kim Ha-yoon secured an ippon victory against Uzbekistan's Ilmatova Rinata, and in the semifinals, she defeated Mongolia's Amarshaikhan Adiyasuren to secure at least a silver medal.

In the final, Kim Ha-yoon took the initiative by attempting an uchi-mata throw within 20 seconds. She scored a waza-ari with an ashi-waza at 43 seconds and maintained her lead to win the gold medal.

In the women's 78kg bronze medal match that day, Korea's Yoon Hyun-ji (Ansan City Hall) claimed the bronze medal.

This is the first gold medal Korea has won in judo at this competition. Previously, Lee Ha-rim and Lee Jun-hwan each reached the finals but took silver medals. On the third day of the competition, Kim Ha-yoon's performance prevented a 'no gold' outcome, bringing smiles to the team.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.