Koo Bon-cheol wins gold in ju-jitsu
Koo Bon-cheol celebrates on the podium during the victory ceremony after winning the gold medal in the men's -77-kilogram event in ju-jitsu at the Asian Games at Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, Friday. Yonhap
South Korean Koo Bon-cheol captured gold in ju-jitsu at the ongoing Asian Games in China on Friday, the country's first gold from the martial art.
Koo defeated Ali Seena Ebrahim Abdulla Munfaredi of Bahrain by 4-1 in advantage points in the final of the men's -77-kilogram event at Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium in Hangzhou.
Ju-jitsu, an ancient Japanese martial art, was contested at the Asian Games for the first time in 2018 in Jakarta. Koo is the first male gold medalist in ju-jitsu for South Korea, with Sung Ki-ra having won a women's event in 2018 and now going for her second straight title Saturday in the women's -63kg event.
In Friday's final, Koo earned his first advantage point with 4:31 left in the bout and quickly added two more advantage points.
Koo sustained a nosebleed after some rough stuff from his opponent but soon returned to action.
After conceding an advantage point, Koo earned another with 1:37 remaining and held on to clinch his first Asian Games title. (Yonhap)