Underdog Kim Yu-jin beats odds to climb to top of taekwondo world in Paris

Of the four members of the South Korean taekwondo team competing in the Paris Olympics, Kim Yu-jin was probably the one least expected to bring home the gold medal. Her Olympic Kyorugi Ranking as of June, which was used for seeding of the Paris event, was No. 24 in the women's -57-kilogram class, far below her teammates Seo Geon-woo, Lee Da-bin, and gold medalist Park Tae-jun -- each ranked No.4, No.4, and No.5 in their respective classes.

But Kim used her long 183-centimeter frame to high-kick the doubts and opponents en route to the country's first women's featherweight gold since 2008, knocking off No. 2-ranked Nahid Kiani of Iran in a 2-0 (5-1, 9-0) shut-out win in the finals held in the Grand Palais in the French capital.

Kim's journey to the finals was filled with high-rankers, and she defeated them in a similarly commanding fashion. She beat the No.5 Hatice Kubra Ilgun of Turkey 2-0 in the round of 16, and No. 4 Skylar Park of Canada 2-0 in the quarter-finals.

The semifinal match against the top-ranked Luo Zongshi of China was a hard-fought win after Luo came back to tie the match 1-1 in the second round. But Kim prevailed to pull off a major upset with a 2-1 victory.

Humble as she is dominant, Kim said that "all the luck was on my side" after defeating four of the top five athletes in her class to complete a sensational Olympic debut. The unheralded hero, however, showed confidence in her abilities as well.

"They (my opponents) were athletes I've studied via videos. I've seen them in previous competitions, and I wasn't intimidated at all," she said after the gold medal win. "Higher ranking does not necessarily mean superior abilities. I don't even care about (the rankings). I just tried to keep myself focused."

Kim said in June that compared to the pressure of securing an Olympic berth, the pressure of the actual tournament would be nothing. Considering what she had to endure to compete in Paris, that comment may have been more than just a show of confidence.

Rough journey to Paris

Unlike her taekwondo teammates at the Olympics who were granted automatic spots on the merit of their high rankings, Kim had to fight her way through the regional stages.

Olympic Taekwondo's two male and two female athletes per country limit that existed until 2012 was lifted before the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, allowing countries to send one athlete per weight class for a maximum of eight athletes.

While South Korea sent five athletes to Rio de Janeiro and six to Tokyo, the country's taekwondo slump in recent years in qualifying tournaments meant it could send fewer athletes to this year's event. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- marked the first time the country failed to win a single gold medal in taekwondo, a sport that originated in Korea.

With Park, Lee and Seo having qualified for Paris automatically through rank, South Korea could compete for the remaining spot through the regional competition. The Korea Taekwondo Association decided to send its practitioner from the -57 kilogram division, deciding that Korea had the best chance in this particular weight class.

Kim had to beat out her flyweight competition in the national trials before heading to China in March for the regional qualifiers, in which she defeated Julie Mam of Cambodia to secure her spot in this year's Olympics.

"Looking back at everything I've been through, I thought to myself, 'There's no reason I can't do this' ... Being in the Olympics itself made me so happy, and my mindset was just to enjoy the process,” she said after winning the gold medal.

The 23-year-old has come a long way from a lanky eight-year-old who picked up taekwondo because her grandmother wanted her to protect herself. "My grandmother was the first person I thought of winning (the gold). Grandma, look. I've won a gold medal," she said smiling, during the post-game interview.

With an Olympic gold medal around her neck, she is now considered one of the premier athletes in the sport. Her next goal is to defend her title in the upcoming 2028 Olympics slated for Los Angeles.

Kim said her short-term goal is to make the national team for the world championships next year, and to win the Asian Games to complete what is considered a grand slam among the Asian athletes.

For now, Kim just wants to enjoy the moment. "I can't even remember when I last had my favorite food, samgyeopsal," she said, referring to the popular Korean pork dish.

When asked if she would enjoy samgyeopsal now that she has won, she replied, "No doubt. I'll even add beer on the side as well."