She went to an ambulance instead of the podium: "Female fighter suffers clavicle fracture, doctor stops match"... Lee Bo-mi writes Korea's first MMA medal with tears [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

She headed for an ambulance rather than the podium. Lee Bo-mi (27, Korean MMA General Association) etched her name as the first-ever Korean mixed martial arts (MMA) medalist in Asian Games history, but swallowed deep regret due to an unexpected injury.

On the 21st, at the Ina Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan, Lee Bo-mi lost by retirement in the first round of the women's modern 54kg semi-final match against Diana Pogosyan (Bahrain), a naturalized Russian athlete.

In this tournament, no third-place match was held; both losing semi-finalists were awarded bronze medals. As a result, Lee Bo-mi secured the bronze medal.

The day before, in the quarterfinals, Lee Bo-mi had fought off Lotiphong (Vietnam) with a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory to secure her medal and secretly aimed for the final. However, around 1 minute and 20 seconds into the first round, she was knocked down while defending against her opponent's fierce assault. Lying on her back, she suffered a severe injury: a fractured left clavicle. With normal competition no longer possible, she threw her towel from the bench, and a doctor stoppage was ultimately declared.

Although she had built the golden monument of Korea's first-ever Asian Games medal in MMA, there was no time to celebrate. According to NEWS1, after confirming her retirement loss, Lee Bo-mi burst into tears out of regret and could not even share her thoughts on the precious bronze medal. Immediately after the match, it was reported that she was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, in MMA, which was officially adopted as a new medal event (with six gold medals) alongside tech ball and padel starting from this Nagoya tournament, South Korea sent three athletes and concluded the competition with only Lee Bo-mi's bronze medal. Earlier, Choi Eun-seok in the men's modern 71kg category and Yoon Tae-young in the men's traditional 77kg category both suffered early exits in the quarterfinals the day before.

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*This content was translated by AI.