Korean judoka had failed to secure a berth to participate in the Paris Olympics in the third division, which is nearly half of the men's seven-weight division. The Korean judoka had no choice but to fail to participate in the men's all-around Olympics for the first time in history.

As of Tuesday, Korea's national judo team has decided to participate in the Paris Olympics only in four weight classes: men's 60kg (Kim Won-jin), 66kg (An Paul), 81kg (Lee Jun-hwan), and 100kg or higher (Kim Min-jong). In the 73, 90, and 100kg weight classes, there was a so-called "hole" in the so-called "three weight classes." This is the first time that men's judo has struggled to compete rather than winning an Olympic medal, which shocked the world of judo. Men's judo is a traditional sport of filial piety with as many as nine medals in previous Olympics.

One athlete from each country can participate in judo at the Paris Olympics, and must be ranked in the top 17 in Olympic rankings or meet the requirements for each continent. Kang Heon-cheol, a 73-kilogram national team player, has fallen to 41st in global rankings. He consistently participated in international competitions, but failed to accumulate ranking points due to his early elimination. Han Joo-yeop, a 90-kilogram player, is ranked 37th and Won Jong-hoon, a 100-kilogram player, is ranked 47th. They are in a similar situation with Kang.

It is safe to say that there is no chance that they will be qualified to participate in the Olympics on their own during the remaining period. Korea only has two to three international competitions left until the Olympics. It is practically difficult for Korea to enter the top 20 of the world rankings only if it wins in two consecutive competitions. Against this backdrop, the judo world said, "In the past, three to four athletes from one weight class competed over competing with each other for the Olympics. This may have caused controversy over the disadvantages of non-Yongin University athletes. Now, however, the mood is that "anyone of them should come out," but they cannot participate in the Olympics because they are not qualified to participate."

What's more painful is that all three weight classes are symbolic of Korean Judo. In particular, it was the strategic weight class and pride of the 73-kg Korean Judo, with two gold medalists. Lee Won-hee, the man of the match who won the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, is a legend of the 73kg class. Kim Jae-beom, then 81kg at the 2012 London Olympics, is also a star who comes to mind when he thinks of the 73kg class. In the 90kg class, Song Dae-nam, the gold medalist at the London Olympics, and Kwak Dong-han, the bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, were produced. In the 100kg class, Jang Sung-ho and Cho Go-ham also won silver medals at the Athens Olympics and the Tokyo Olympics, respectively.

It is pointed out within the judo community that it is too difficult to pass on the sluggishness of judo to only the national team coach and coaches. Korean judo, which became a boon to the team by winning two gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, has been a gold medalist in all of the 2012 London games except the 2000 Sydney games (silver 2 and bronze 3). However, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, it remained at the No Gold (silver 2 and bronze 1) for the first time in 16 years, going downhill. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it was only a No Gold (silver 1 and bronze 2), which shocked the world. The performance was the lowest in 45 years since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Some even criticized the collapse of Korean judo. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, there is no strong candidate for a gold medal in Korean judo.

Immediately after his lackluster performance at the Tokyo Olympics, Sun Chan-jong, executive director of the Korea Judo Association, said, "At the direction of Chairman Cho Yong-cheol, we will reorganize our training methods and focus on finding ways to boost the performance of Korean national judo players." However, the judo team's executive branch is currently busy with factional and political fights. Yongin University's judo department has been suffering from internal strife since last year.

The judo team has Chairman Cho and other officials from the judo tournament and former national team leaders. "Yongin University is a place where elite Korean judo players gather, and professors and leaders there spend part of their time looking for players and improving their skills to keep each other in check," a judo official said. "Three years have passed since the last Olympics, but nothing has changed. On the contrary, judo has regressed further," another said. "Current leaders lack understanding of athletes these days, and their training methods are not appropriate. What needs to be corrected is the Korean Judo Association, but it has been neglected so far."

BY: 토토