TOKYO, South Korea lost to Mongolia 4-1 in the round of 16 in the mixed team judo event at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, leaving the country without a judo gold medal for the second consecutive Olympics.
It’s a disappointing fall from grace for the sport that had once been a steady source of Olympic titles for South Korea.
South Korea leaves Tokyo with a silver medal by Cho Guham in the men’s 100kg, and bronze medals by An Baul in the men’s 66kg and by An Chang-rim in the men’s 73kg.
It’s the least productive performance by a South Korean judo team since Montreal 1976.
South Korea won at least one gold in judo at all but one Olympics between 1984 and 2012, the lone exception during that stretch being the 2002 event in Sydney.
Grabbing two silvers and one bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics was a huge letdown, considering South Korea sent four judokas ranked first in the world in their respective classes.
The increasingly shallow depth meant that, for Tokyo, South Korea brought back a handful of athletes from Rio. Cho, An Baul and An Chang-rim delivered medals, but it doesn’t bode well for the long-term future of Korean judo when none of them faced serious challenges in Olympic trials.
South Korea’s team competition ended after just one match Saturday. Kim Min-jong opened the match with a win over Duurenbayar Ulziibayar, but the next four South Koreans all dropped theirs for the 4-1 loss.
Source: Yonhap News Agency.