'Japanese Genius Book of Korea's Dark Horse' Judo Women's 63kg class Kim Ji-soo defeated 'World No. 1' to advance to the quarterfinals'
Jul 30, 2024
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Kim Ji-soo won half of the round of 16 in the women's 63-kg judo tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Chandmars Stadium in Paris, France on the 30th (Korea time) by missing world No. 1 Joanna van Rishoute (the Netherlands).
It was an extraordinary event. Kim Ji-soo, who exchanged two maps each, caught the opponent off guard with a reckless attack with 16 seconds left until the end of the game. During a tense power fight against each other, Kim Ji-soo rushed forward with his opponent's right foot on the line. Pan Rishout, whose center collapsed, gave up half as his shoulder touched the floor. The game ended as it was.
Kim Ji-soo, who reached the quarterfinals, is close to winning a medal.
Earlier, Kim Ji-soo won the round of 32 against world No. 15 Barbara Timo of Portugal. Kim Ji-soo strongly held Timo behind his back, who failed to fill in about 50 seconds before the end of the game. He then turned it to the side once, and soon turned it another time to completely overpower Timo's upper body. Timo was crushed by Kim Ji-soo for the next 20 seconds and was unable to take his back off the floor and lost a game with 7 seconds left.
Kim Ji-soo is a third-generation Korean-Japanese born in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Influenced by Kim Deok-je, a judo player-turned-father, he started judo in the first grade of elementary school. Kim Ji-soo has stood out since his first year of high school, winning the national championship as a school representative. He won both weight classes and was called the `Judicrous Genius.' Although she was called a Japanese high school judo star, Kim Ji-soo pursued her roots.
After graduating, he returned to Korea and joined the Gyeongbuk Sports Council. The address was also moved to Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, the hometown of my father and grandfather. In Japan, it was a natural choice for Kim Ji-soo, who only used the name Kim Ji-soo. He became the first Korean-Japanese female player to wear the national flag in 2020. He also participated in the Tokyo Games, but unfortunately stayed in the round of 16.
Kim Ji-soo has been on a good track recently, ranking first in the 2023 and 2024 Grand Slam and third in the 2024 Asian Judo Championships, and was considered a dark horse for the medal in this tournament.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
