Lee Sung-ho gets last-minute ticket to Tokyo Games

Lee Sung-ho [INTERNATIONAL JUDO FEDERATION]

Korean Judoka Lee Sung-ho has earned a last-minute Olympic berth in the men's 81 kilogram judo event at the Tokyo Olympics.

The International Judo Federation announced Tuesday that Lee is able to compete at the Olympics because a judoka from another country has dropped out of the tournament after testing positive for Covid-19. Lee was the next-highest ranked among all male and female judokas.

As a result, the Korean national judo team now has 14 athletes headed to Tokyo, competing in all 14 weight class for the first time after the 2008 Beijing Games.

Twelve members — six coaching staff and six athletes — left for Tokyo at 11:15 a.m. today. The remainder of the squad, one coach and eight athletes including Lee, will leave for Tokyo at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]