Male 90kg Kim Jong-hun wins silver medal... loses one match to world No. 1 Muraoka in the final
Judo's male heavyweight champion Kim Min-jong (Yangpyeong-gun Office, world ranking 14th) reached the top at the International Judo Federation (IJF) 2026 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam.
On the 21st, Kim Min-jong defeated Irakli Demetrashvili (Georgia, 4th place) by disqualification in the men's over 100kg final on the last day of the tournament held at the AIC Step Arena in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and won the gold medal.
Kim Min-jong, who gained momentum by obtaining a score 15 seconds after the start of the match, unfolded the match to his advantage as Demetrashvili received two shido (penalties) afterwards.
He gave up a score with 1 minute 23 seconds remaining in regular time, but confirmed the victory as Demetrashvili received his third shido 39 seconds before the end.
Kim Min-jong is Korea's ace in men's heavyweight judo, having won the 2024 IJF World Championships and the 2024 Paris Olympics silver medal.
He also defeated Demetrashvili in the bronze medal match at the 2026 Paris Grand Slam held last February and stood on the podium.
Kim Min-jong defeated Kanan Nasibov (Azerbaijan), ranked 7th in the world, by disqualification in the quarterfinals, then defeated Inali Tasoyev (Russia), ranked 2nd in the world, by o goshi waza in the semifinals and advanced to the finals.
This is Kim Min-jong's first Grand Slam victory since his senior debut.
He had won 3 silver medals and 4 bronze medals at Grand Slams before, but had never won a gold medal.
In an interview with the IJF after the match, Kim Min-jong said, "I am shorter than other athletes in my weight class, so I had to train in the way of fighting like a lightweight athlete, and through this process I gained competitiveness," and added, "I will continue to challenge until I win an Olympic gold medal."
Kim Jong-hun attempting technique with all his might
In the men's 90kg division, Kim Jong-hun (Yangpyeong-gun Office, 6th place) won a valuable silver medal.
Kim Jong-hun defeated Maxime Gael Ingayev Ambu (France, 11th place), a Paris Olympics bronze medalist, by osoto gari in the semifinals and advanced to the finals, but could not overcome the final hurdle.
He lost to Japan's Sanshiro Muraoka, a Paris Olympics silver medalist and world No. 1, by giving up an o goshi waza technique 2 minutes 28 seconds into the match, then allowing a ne waza hold 14 seconds later.
South Korea finished the tournament with 2 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 1 bronze medal, combining the gold medal of Lee Jun-hwan (Pohang City Hall) in the men's 81kg division the day before and the bronze medal of Kim Chan-young (High One) in the men's 66kg division on the 19th.
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