Judoka An Ba-ul takes bronze in -66 kilograms
![An Ba-ul, wearing blue, faces Japan's Ryoma Tanaka in the men's judo -66 kilograms division semifinal match in Hangzhou, China on Sunday. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2023/09/24/23794f52-0e83-45b6-b190-d8d42cfb699e.jpg)
An Ba-ul, wearing blue, faces Japan's Ryoma Tanaka in the men's judo -66 kilograms division semifinal match in Hangzhou, China on Sunday. [YONHAP]
Korea’s An Ba-ul defeated Tajikistan’s Obid Dzhebov to win bronze in the -66 kilograms division of men’s judo in Hangzhou, China on Sunday.
An, 29, ousted Dzhebov, 25, from a medal finish by waza-ari, the second-highest score awarded in judo.
An won two earlier matches by waza-ari, including the first ever matchup between South Korea and North Korea during this year’s Games, defeating North Korea’s Ri Kum-song in the elimination round of 16.
An was the reigning champion in his weight division after winning gold during the last Asiad in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018, but came up short during the gold medal qualifying round. He lost to Japan’s Ryoma Tanaka, who won the round by ippon, the highest score awarded in judo.
Korea won a total of three medals in judo on Sunday, pushing the national team’s overall score up to 2nd place as of press time.
Lee Ha-rim clinched a silver medal in the men’s -60 kilograms division, a personal best for him in the Asiad after his bronze medal finish during the 2018 Games.
That was followed by Jung Ye-rin, who won a bronze medal in the women’s -52 kilograms contest.
BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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