Lee Joon-hwan claimed a bronze medal in the men's -81-kilogram judo at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday for South Korea's second medal in the sport here. Lee, world No. 3, defeated the top-ranked Matthias Casse of Belgium in one of the two bronze medal contests at Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris. Lee scored the decisive "waza-ari," or a half point, 48 seconds into the sudden-death extra period. Lee ran into his old nemesis from Georgia, world No. 2 Tato Grigalashvili, in the semifinals, and lost by a decisive ippon in the extra session after being the aggressor most of the match. Lee, 22, shook off the disappointing loss and took down Casse with a bronze medal at stake. Less than a minute into the extra period, Lee finished off the Belgian with "ko-uchi-gari," or small inner reap. South Korea now has two silver medals in judo so far in Paris, with Huh Mimi having finished second in the women's -57kg on Monday. Also in judo on Tuesday, Kim Ji-su lost to Lubjana Piovesana of Austria in the repechage match in t he women's -63kg after falling to Katarina Kristo of Croatia in the quarterfinals. Kim, world No. 16, upset the top-ranked Joanne van Lieshout of the Netherlands in the round of 16, but lost her next two matches to miss out on a chance to compete for a medal. Source: Yonhap News Agency
(LEAD) (Olympics) Lee Joon-hwan wins bronze in men’s judo
Recent Posts
U.S. Senator Michael Bennet Visits Taiwan to Discuss Key Issues
October 6, 2026
Taiwan Stock Market Starts Strong on Tuesday
October 6, 2026
Taiwan Stock Market Ends with Modest Gains
October 6, 2026
Taiwan Stock Market Reaches New High Amid Investor Caution
October 6, 2026