Korean judoka misses chance for gold in quarterfinals, again

Kim Won-jin fell out of a chance to nab a gold or silver medal on Saturday at the Paris Olympics, losing to France’s Luka Mkheidze in the quarterfinals of the men’s -60-kilogram contest.

France's Luka Mkheidze and Korea's Kim Won-jin, right, compete in the judo men's -60-kilogram quarterfinal bout at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Korean judoka Kim Won-jin fell out of a chance to nab a gold or silver judo medal on Saturday at the Paris Olympics, losing to France’s Luka Mkheidze in the quarterfinals of the men’s -60-kilogram contest.

Kim, who is competing at his third Olympics, will again be denied a shot at reaching the gold-medal match after losing 1-0 by a waza-ari on his opponent's home turf at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris.

It was a rematch of a bout in Tokyo, where Kim lost to Mkheidze 10-0 in a repechage match to finish fifth after being eliminated in the quarters. Kim made his debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics where he was also knocked out in the quarterfinals.

Kim can still win a bronze medal by climbing his way through the repechage rounds, which were still ongoing as of press time.

Korea's Kim Won-jin, bottom, competes against France's Luka Mkheidze in the men's judo -60-kilogram quarterfinal bout at the Paris Olympics in Paris on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

The 32-year-old judoka reached the top eight in Paris by throwing Azerbaijan’s Balabay Aghayev for an Ippon in sudden-death overtime during the round of 16.

And he made the round of 16 after Zambia’s Simon Zulu was disqualified for a head dive, earning him a direct hansoku-make — handed out when a judoka violates the spirit of judo.

Zambia's Simon Zulu reacts after being disqualified in a bout against Korea's Kim Won-jin in the men's judo -60-kilogram contest at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

But it won’t be the end of the road for Kim, as he is set to compete in a mixed team contest.

Korea’s Lee Hye-kyeong, the other judoka competing on Saturday, the first day of the judo at the Olympics, was earlier knocked out in the women’s -48-kilogram round of 32.

The competition for each weight class spans a full day.

Eleven judokas, five men and six women, are representing Korea at the Paris Olympics. Judo runs through Aug. 3.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said that Kim Won-jin could not medal after losing in the quarterfinals. In fact, he could still qualify for the bronze-medal match through the repechage bracket.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]