Judo Signboard An Baul Wins Bronze with Specialty Seoi Nage... Defeats World No.1 and Sheds Tears

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] An Ba-ul (Namyangju City Hall, World Ranking 3rd), the silver medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

On the 25th, An Ba-ul defeated Manuel Lombardo (Italy), the world number 1, by ippon with an uchi-mata throw just 2 minutes and 18 seconds into the men's 66kg bronze medal match held at the Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, securing a valuable medal.

After the match, An Ba-ul sat down and shed tears endlessly. In fact, An Ba-ul was considered a gold medal contender in this tournament. Although he was at a disadvantage with a 0-2 record against Abe Hifumi (5th), Japan's top star and the strongest in the weight class, he was judged to have a chance of winning due to his diligent training aimed at him.

He won by ippon against Ian Sancho (Costa Rica, 69th) in the round of 16, scoring waza-ari each with uchi-mata and tate-shiho-gatame. In the quarterfinals, he secured a semifinal ticket by drawing a penalty win after a golden score (overtime) battle against Adrian Gomboc (Slovenia, 26th).

The momentum was good in the semifinals as well. Against Vazha Margvelashvili (Georgia, 4th), he continuously attempted his main technique, uchi-mata, and earned two shidos (penalties). If he had received one more shido, he could have won by penalty, putting him in a favorable position.

However, An Ba-ul suffered a heartbreaking defeat by conceding a waza-ari from morote seoi nage at 2 minutes and 58 seconds into the golden score (overtime). Afterwards, in the bronze medal match, he defeated the world number 1 and stood on the podium, finishing on a high note.