Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-jin suffers 'shocking early exit'... Swept by China's Zhang Qiuling in quarterfinals [Aichi-Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

It is a shocking early elimination for the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist. Kim Yu-jin (Ulsan Metropolitan City Sports Council), the flagship of Korean taekwondo, was caught off guard in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

On the 3rd, at the Toyohashi General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Kim lost decisively to dark horse Zhang Qiuling (China) with a round score of 0-2 (5-9, 8-14) in the women's 57 kg class quarterfinals of the taekwondo sparring event, failing to advance to the semifinals.

It was an unexpected and shocking result: the Olympic champion failed to reach the medal round. Kim had been the pride of Korean women's taekwondo, having won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics by causing an upset that saw her defeat the world No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 in succession, despite being in the disadvantageous position of World Taekwondo (WT) Olympic ranking No. 24 at the time.

Kim, who had already dominated the Asian Championships in 2021 and 2024, aimed to secure the coveted career Grand Slam by winning this tournament and then sweeping the 2027 Astana World Championships in Kazakhstan. However, her plans were abruptly halted as she failed to even clear the quarterfinal hurdle. Her bid for consecutive Asian Games medals, following her bronze at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, also came to nothing.

Even in the round of 16, which was her first match of the day, the flow was perfect. Kim displayed consistently dominant performance against Kashish Malik (India), winning decisively with a round score of 2-0 (18-3, 17-2) to comfortably secure her spot in the quarterfinals.

However, she could not overcome the wall presented by Zhang Qiuling in the quarterfinals. Zhang, ranked No. 30 in the world, was the dark horse that Kim herself had directly identified as the most difficult opponent ahead of this tournament. In the early part of the first round, Kim took the initiative by scoring the first two points with her signature body kick attacks. However, near the end of the round, she allowed consecutive body and head kick attacks from Zhang Qiuling, falling behind 2-7. Although she pursued a comeback by successfully landing a head attack, she was hit again by a body kick just before the end of the round, losing the first round 5-9.

The flow of the second round, in which Kim was pushed to the brink, was even more disappointing. Kim maintained an aggressive strategy until the mid-round, extending her lead to 8-2 and seemingly resetting the match. However, her concentration wavered sharply toward the end of the second round, and she repeatedly allowed head kicks from the opponent's fierce counterattacks. On top of that, she incurred point deductions, and the situation was instantly reversed to 8-14, ultimately failing to turn the tide.

Since winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, Kim has consistently maintained top-tier performance on the international stage, earning a silver medal at last year's Wuxi World Championships and silver medals at this year's Rome and Muju Grand Prix events. Consequently, she was considered the most likely candidate for the gold medal at this tournament. She had hoped to shake off the regret of losing to then-world No. 1 Luo Zongshu (China) in the semifinals of the Hangzhou Games held in 2023, but once again blocked by a Chinese competitor, she sadly concluded her second Asian Games without a medal.

With Kim Yu-jin's early exit as well, the slump of the Korean taekwondo national team, the birthplace of the sport, deepened further. In the taekwondo sparring events of this tournament, which began the previous day, Korea failed to send a single athlete to the final stage, managing only two bronze medals and falling into a serious slump.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.