Another natural enemy, 'Lightning Man' Lee Jun-hwan failed to advance to the final due to defeat by Tong-in 'Challenge for the bronze medal'
Jul 30, 2024
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Lee Joon-hwan was unfortunately defeated by Tato Grigalashvili (Georgia) in the men's 81-kg judo semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at Chandmars Stadium in Paris, France on the 30th (Korea time). Lee Jun-hwan went to the bronze medal match.
It was a disappointing game. Gri-Galashvili was Lee Jun-hwan's natural enemy. Lee Joon-hwan lost to Grigalashvili in both the semifinals of this year's and last year's world championships, and only won the bronze medal for the second consecutive year. Grigalashvili won the World Championship for three consecutive years from the year before last year to this year, and was also named the strongest gold medalist candidate in this competition. Lee Joon-hwan also changed his style ahead of this tournament to catch Gri-Galashvili.
Lee Joon-hwan, a natural enemy who met again in the semifinals, continued to push Grigalashvili. Exhausted, Grigalashvili was in a hurry to defend himself. In the end, the game continued with the Golden Score. Lee Joon-hwan's attack continued. Grigalashvili received the map twice. However, he lost his concentration at the last minute. Grigalashvili did not miss it and connected it to the attack.
Lee Jun-hwan was in a slump earlier. Lee Joon-hwan, who reached the round of 16 with a half-win against Accraf Muti (Morocco) in the previous round of 32, confirmed his advance to the quarterfinals with a single victory by quickly putting his opponent in the meth at the Golden Score. In the quarterfinals, he beat Sharopidine Voltavoyev of Uzbekistan, ranked 12th in the world, with his shoulder. However, he fell to his knees unfortunately in the most important semifinal.
Lee Jun-hwan was one of the dark horses in this tournament. He appeared like a comet in the international judo community in June last year. In the final of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Tbilisi Grand Slam, his first senior international competition, he beat Tato Grigalashvili (No. 2 in the world) and won the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 20 days later by defeating the gold and bronze medalists at the Tokyo Olympics.
IJF added the modifier 'Lightning Man' to Lee Joon-hwan's play, which does not miss the opponent's gaps and actively penetrates them. IFJ praised 'Very fast enough to win a round even before the introduction of the player is over.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
