Kim Minjong and Yoon Hyunji win silver and bronze at the IJF Tokyo Grand Slam
‘Heavyweight duo’ Kim Min-jong (Yangpyeong County Office) and Yoon Hyun-ji (Ansan City Office) won silver and bronze medals side by side at the International Judo Federation (IJF) Tokyo Grand Slam 2023.
In the men’s +100 kilograms final on day two of the competition at the Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, heavyweight Kim Min-jong lost a reversal bout to Tamerlan Bashayev (AIN-Russia, Individual Neutral) after attempting a leg hold.
After passing the first round with a bye, Kim defeated Gerard Takayawa (Fiji) in the second round with an armbar and Giannis Antoniou (Cyprus) in the round of 16 with half a thigh hold and half a reversal.
Kim then went on to win the quarterfinals, defeating Tasoev (AIN) in a pressing bout in the quarterfinals and then defeating world No. 2 Tatsuru Saito (JPN) in the semifinals with a half-leg and half-pressing bout, but was unable to overcome Bashayev in the final.
“Although I missed out on the gold medal due to a last-minute lapse in concentration, I gained confidence by finishing runner-up in my first international competition since the Asian Games,” said Kim Min-jong. “I would like to express my gratitude for the support of General Jeon Jin-sun, the county council, and the civilian population, who have always shown a lot of support and interest in the development of judo in Yangpyeong County.”
Meanwhile, in the women’s 78-kilogram category, Yoon Hyun-ji (KOR) defeated Umeki Mami (JPN) in the bronze medal match by tying up two halves of an ankle hold. It had been six months since Mami Umeki lost an ankle hold to Yun in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam in Ulaanbaatar in June.
Yun had defeated Kuslen Otgonbayar (Mongolia) by foul in the first round, before defeating Yelizaveta Litvynonko (Ukraine) in the second round in a bout that consisted of half a rear-naked choke and half a press.
She lost another quarterfinal bout to Rika Takayama (JPN) in the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou Asian Games in a bout that was half takedown and half press, sending her to the loser’s bracket. Yoon defeated Shori Hamada (JPN) in the loser’s bracket with a thigh hold before meeting Mami Umeki (JPN) in the bronze medal match.
In the men’s 60kg category, Kim Won-jin (Yangpyeong County Government) defeated Ashley McKenzie (Jamaica) and Nizami Imranov (Azerbaijan) in the second and third rounds, respectively, after a first-round bye, but lost to Ayubliyev (AIN) in the quarterfinals in a one-sided takedown and was forced to withdraw due to injury to Lukumi Tskvmiani (Georgia).