Taekwondo Kim Yujin Advances to 57kg Semifinals... Defeats Korean-Canadian Athlete [Paris Olympics]

Kim Yujin (23, Ulsan Metropolitan City Sports Council), who competed in the women's 57kg taekwondo category at the 2024 Paris Olympics, advanced to the semifinals by defeating Skylar Park, a Korean-Canadian athlete.

On the 8th (local time), Kim Yujin won the quarterfinal match held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, with a round score of 2-0 (7-6, 9-5) against Skylar Park, advancing to the top four.

According to the World Taekwondo Federation (WT) rankings compiled until June, just before the competition, Skylar Park (4th) is ranked higher than Kim Yujin (24th). However, Kim Yujin previously defeated Hatice Ilgun, a Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and world No. 5, in the round of 16 with a round score of 2-0 (7-5, 7-2).

Kim Yujin was hit in the head just 28 seconds after the match started but counterattacked by striking her opponent's torso. Due to a penalty against her opponent, she tied the score 3-3 with 46 seconds remaining in the first round. Kim Yujin then delivered a kick to her opponent's head 19 seconds before the round ended, and after video review, the attack was confirmed, giving her a 3-point lead.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Despite Skylar Park's pursuit, Kim Yujin won the first round 7-6 and scored the first point in the second round with a head attack. In the subsequent kicking exchanges, Kim Yujin pulled ahead and secured the victory by extending the lead to 9-3 with 21 seconds remaining in the match.

If Kim Yujin wins two more matches, she will claim the gold medal. This would make her the first South Korean female gold medalist in the 57kg category in 16 years. South Korea previously won gold in the women's 57kg category at the 2000 Sydney (Jung Jae-eun), 2004 Athens (Jang Ji-won), and 2008 Beijing (Lim Su-jeong) Olympics, but has not had a medalist since then.

Kim Yujin's semifinal opponent is likely to be Luo Zongsi from China, the strongest competitor in this weight class. World No. 1 Luo Zongsi will face Brazil's Clara Pacheco (16th) in the quarterfinals.