PARIS – South Korean taekwondo athlete Lee Da-bin secured a bronze medal in the women's +67-kilogram category at the Paris Olympics, marking South Korea's third medal in this martial art discipline during the Games. Lee triumphed over Germany's Lorena Brandl in a hard-fought match, adding a bronze to the South Korean team's medal tally.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the match between Lee and Brandl concluded with scores of 4-2, 5-9, and 13-2 in the best-of-three rounds format at the Grand Palais. South Korea's representation in taekwondo at this Olympics included four athletes, three of whom have now medaled. Prior to Lee's victory, Park Tae-joon captured the men's -58kg gold, and Kim Yu-jin won in the women's -57kg category, while Seo Geon-woo narrowly missed a medal, placing fourth in the men's -80kg.
Lee, aiming to build on her silver medal from the Tokyo Olympics, demonstrated strong form by defeating Zhou Zeqi of China in the quarterfinals, who had previously bested her at the 2023 Asian Games. However, her pursuit of a final round appearance was halted in the semifinals where she faced Svetlana Osipova of Uzbekistan and suffered a defeat after conceding several head kicks.
In the decisive bronze medal contest, Lee and Brandl each took a round, setting the stage for a dramatic third round. Brandl, appearing fatigued, struggled to maintain her earlier momentum, allowing Lee to dominate by scoring quickly and effectively, including a series of high-scoring kicks to the head. Lee established an early lead and maintained it to secure the bronze, marking a strong finish to her Olympic campaign.