No gold for Korea on Day 1 of taekwondo

Spain's Adrian Vicente Yunta, right, and Korea's Jang Jun compete in the taekwondo men's -58kg quarterfinal bout during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe Hall, July 24. AFP-Yonhap

South Korea was shut out of gold medals on the first day of taekwondo competition at the Tokyo Olympics, Saturday.

Jang Jun, the world No. 1 and heavily favored to win gold in the men's 58kg, fell to Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi of Tunisia in the semifinals, by the score of 25-19 at the Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, just east of Tokyo.

Jang's elimination came hours after Sim Jae-young lost to Miyu Yamada of Japan 16-7 in the quarterfinals of the women's 49kg division.

Jang will get a chance to salvage a bronze medal later Saturday.

South Korea has sent six practitioners to taekwondo for these Olympic Games, with hopes of claiming multiple gold medals. (Yonhap)