Asian Games S. Korea's Huh Mimi wins gold in women's judo
South Korea's Huh Mimi receives her medal during the ceremony. Huh won the gold medal in the women's -57-kilogram judo at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
NAGOYA, Japan — South Korea's Huh Mimi won the gold medal in the women's -57-kilogram judo event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, giving her country its first judo gold at the ongoing competition.
Huh beat Terbish Ariunzaya of Mongolia by a yuko in the event's final held at Aichi International Arena in Nogoya, central Japan.
She stood on the top of the podium in her first Asian Games appearance. It is South Korea's first judo gold medal at the ongoing competition.
Bronze medals were shared by Mio Shirakane of Japan and Kim Hyon-a of North Korea.
In the final, Huh earned a yuko, the smallest point awarded in judo, through a back-throw just 12 seconds after the competition started.
South Korea's Huh Mimi (in blue) competes against Mongolia's Terbish Ariunzaya during the final of the women's -57-kilogram judo at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
She tried a couple of ground and hand-throwing techniques, but failed to earn points. Despite a shido, or yellow card, she successfully used the remaining time to seal the victory.
Huh, 21, was born in Tokyo to a Korean father and a Japanese mother. She competed for Japan earlier in her career but began representing South Korea in 2021 to honor a dying wish of her grandmother.
Huh is also a descendant of a Korean independence fighter from the Japanese colonial period.
Since winning silver at the Paris Summer Olympics, she has now won the gold medal in her Asian Games debut.
In the men's -81-kilogram event, Lee Joon-hwan won the bronze medal after defeating Elyas Parhizgar of Iran by an ippon (a full point) in the bronze medal match.
He lost to Sotaro Fujiwara of Japan by a waza-ari (a half point) in the semifinals and dropped to the bronze medal decider. The Japanese judoka won the gold medal in the event.