[Asian Games] Kwon Jaedeok and Jeong Junyong Secure at Least Bronze in Kurash... Korea's First Ever Medal

Kwon Jaedeok Advances to Semifinals in Under 66kg
Jung Junyong Reaches Semifinals in Over 90kg Category

Kwon Jae-deok and Jeong Jun-yong, who competed in the Uzbek traditional martial art 'Kurash,' secured the first-ever Asian Games medals for South Korea in this sport.

On the 30th, at the Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, during the first day of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games Kurash competition, Kwon Jae-deok advanced to the men's under 66 kg semifinals, guaranteeing at least a bronze medal. Shortly after, Jeong Jun-yong also reached the semifinals in the over 90 kg category, securing a bronze medal, bringing South Korea's total to two medals on that day. In Kurash, both semifinal losers are awarded bronze medals.

On the same day, Kwon Jae-deok defeated Keshav Keshav (India) in the round of 16 by kalrol (a scoring method where the opponent is thrown so that their entire back touches the ground, ending the match immediately), and then overcame Shamuhamet Kurbanov (Turkmenistan) in the quarterfinals to enter the medal rounds.

Jeong Jun-yong defeated Hussein Misri (Kuwait) in the round of 16 and Satler Nasif (Lebanon) in the quarterfinals.

Kwon Jae-deok [Photo by Yonhap News]

Jung Jun-yong Photo by Yonhap News

Kurash is a widely enjoyed sport in Uzbekistan as well as Central Asia and the Middle East. The name means "to reach the goal by a fair method" in Uzbek. Its techniques and competition style are similar to judo, but unlike judo, attacking the lower body is prohibited.

Kurash was officially included as a sport starting from the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. South Korea had two participants in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games but did not win any medals; this year marks the first time South Korea has produced medalists in Kurash.

The weight class semifinals and finals for Kwon Jae-deok and Jeong Jun-yong are scheduled to continue from 3 p.m. Korea Standard Time.