Korea's Yoon Hyun-ji loses to China's Ma Zhenzhao in round of 16

Olympic Sports

Korea's Yoon Hyun-ji loses to China's Ma Zhenzhao in round of 16

Published: 01 Aug. 2024, 18:31

China's Ma Zhenzhao competes against Korea's Yoon Hyun-ji in the women's judo -78-kilogram round of 16 at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris at the Paris Olympics Thursday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korean judoka Yoon Hyun-ji lost to China’s Ma Zhenzhao in the women’s -78-kilogram round of 16 at the Paris Olympics Thursday, ending her bid for an individual medal without a shot at bronze through the repechage rounds.

Yoon, 30, nabbed an early advantage with a waza-ari, worth one point, in the second minute but lost after Ma won by an ippon — the highest score a judoka can achieve.

She failed to reach the quarterfinals, after which a loss would have earned her a spot in a repechage round, where athletes can still fight to qualify for a bronze-medal match.

Yoon also competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she placed fifth in the same individual weight division.

There are 11 Korean judokas competing in Paris, with one silver and one bronze medal as of press time Thursday.

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