Judo athlete Han Juyeop loses to world No.1 in quarterfinals [Paris Olympics]

Aiming to Advance to the Bronze Medal Match Through the Repechage Round

Han Juyeop (25, High1), a member of the Korean national judo team, was defeated by the world No. 1 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics. As a result, Han Juyeop will aim to advance to the bronze medal match through the repechage.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ranked 24th in the world, Han Juyeop lost by ippon to Lasha Bekauri (Georgia) in the men's 90kg quarterfinals held on the 31st at the Champ de Mars venue in Paris, France.

Bekauri is the world No. 1 athlete who won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and earned silver and bronze medals at the World Championships last year and the year before.

Under Bekauri's aggressive attacks, Han Juyeop was pushed onto the defensive and ultimately lost by ippon 1 minute and 22 seconds into the match. After several attempts, Bekauri succeeded in grabbing Han Juyeop’s back and tripped his left leg, throwing him backward.

In the earlier rounds, Han Juyeop won by ippon with a shoulder throw against world No. 82 Karmel Kone (Burkina Faso) in the round of 32, and won by waza-ari with a seoi-nage against No. 32 John Jane (USA) in the round of 16.

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