Judoka An Ba-ul comes out on top in first South-North clash

South Korea's An Ba-ul, wearing white, defeats North Korea's Ri Kum-song in a round of men's judo at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Sunday. [YONHAP]

South Korean judoka An Ba-ul beat North Korea’s Ri Kum-song in the first of several all-Korean matchups during the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

An, 29, defeated Ri, 21, in the elimination round of 16 in the men’s judo -66 kilograms division by waza-ari, the second highest score awarded in judo, on Sunday.

The delegations from South Korea and North Korea did not walk together during this year’s opening ceremony on Saturday night, reversing a show of unity at the 2018 Asiad in Jakarta, Indonesia when they paraded under the unification flag.

This year’s Asiad is North Korea’s first major international sporting event in five years. North Korea skipped the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 due to Covid-19 and because of that, was banned by the International Olympic Committee from participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The Games, delayed one year due to Covid-19 concerns, officially kicked off with an opening ceremony on Saturday. The first medal events began Sunday morning.

This year’s Games are set to see several showdowns between South Korean and North Korean athletes, including women’s boxing scheduled Sunday evening as of press time.

In women's basketball, South Korea and North Korea have both been slotted to Group C and are set to face off on Friday, putting former teammates in 2018 on opposite sides of the court.

South Korea is competing in 39 of 40 sports while Games organizers said North Korea has registered athletes in 17.

South Korea’s first medal in this year’s Asiad was in the modern pentathlon. Kim Sun-woo took home silver, individually, and the Korean women’s team won bronze.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]