"Crazy! Kim Yu-jin" Taekwondo 女 No. 1 in the 57kg class → 'Secure the 銀!'

Aug 09, 2024

'Crazy! Kim Yu-jin' Taekwondo 女 No. 1 in the 57kg class → 'Secure the 銀!'



'Crazy! Kim Yu-jin' Taekwondo 女 No. 1 in the 57kg class → 'Secure the 銀!'
He even beat the world's No. 1.

Kim Yoo-jin (Ulsan Sports Council) reached the final of his first Olympic Games. Kim Yu-jin defeated China's Luo Zongx 2-1 (7-0 1-7 10-3) in the women's 57kg semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics taekwondo women's 57kg class at Grand Palais in Paris, France, on the 8th (Korea time). Kim Yu-jin succeeded in advancing to the final and secured a silver medal.

Kim Yoo-jin previously defeated the strong and advanced to the semifinals. In the round of 16, he defeated Turkiye Hatizet (2-0 (7-57-2), who was ranked fifth in the world. The first game was a formidable opponent. According to the World Taekwondo Federation, Kim Yu-jin was ranked 24th and Ilguin was 5th. Ilguin is a strong player who won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games earlier.



In the quarterfinals, they beat fourth-ranked Skyla Park 2-0 (7-69-5). Korean-Canadian Skyla Park finished third at the 2019 World Championships. He is also a strong player who won the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix. Kim Yoo-jin caught the big fish by successfully attacking his head.

Kim Yu-jin's opponent in the semifinals is China's Luo Zongx, the strongest in this weight class. World No. 1 Lutzung defeated Brazil's Clara Pachecu (16th) in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 (0-13-26-0) round score to advance to the semifinals.



'Crazy! Kim Yu-jin' Taekwondo 女 No. 1 in the 57kg class → 'Secure the 銀!'
Kim Yoo-jin took the lead with a bold head attack in the first round. A video review found that the head attack was recognized. Another head attack gave them a 6-0 lead. The video review was successful again. They exchanged points and finished the round 7–1.

Luo Jjongs was not easy. At the start of the second round, he took the lead with a bold head attack. Another successful head attack, but the video review did not acknowledge it. Confused, Kim Yu-jin made a series of mistakes, and continued to receive points and collapsed to 1-7. For the first time in this tournament, the round was taken away.



In the third round of fate, Kim Yoo-jin succeeded another key head attack. He took a 10-0 lead by tying three consecutive successes and deductions to virtually seal the victory. He received a last-minute deduction, but it did not interfere with the trend.

Kim Yu-jin won the ticket to Paris after many twists and turns. In January, the Korea Taekwondo Association decided to challenge for the women's 57kg Olympic ticket through an internal meeting, and in February, through its own selection, Kim Yu-jin was decided to compete in Asia. Kim Yu-jin beat Juli Mom (Cambodia) in the semifinals of the Asian Trials held in Taian, China, in March to win a ticket to Paris given to the top two in each weight class.

This weight class is deeply related to Korean Taekwondo. From the 2000 Sydney Games, when taekwondo first became an official sport, to the 2008 Beijing Games, Jeong Jae-eun, Jang Ji-won, and Lim Soo-jung won gold medals in this weight class in turn. However, no athlete won a medal in this weight class until the Tokyo Games later. Kim Yu-jin took the opportunity to break the hook.



vanbasten@sportschosun.com