South Korean An Ba-ul won the silver medal in the men's -66kg judo at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.
The world No. 1 An lost to the 26th-ranked Fabio Basile of Italy by ippon in the final at Carioca Arena 2.
An had defeated his nemesis, Masashi Ebinuma, in the semifinals, his first victory over the Japanese in three meetings.
With the gold at stake, however, An faltered in just 84 seconds.
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Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald |
South Korea has won two silver medals in two days of the judo competition. Jeong Bo-kyeong was the runner-up in the women's 48kg Saturday.
An admitted he momentarily lost his focus in the final, and he'll have to be "emotionally more prepared" next time.
"I've worked so hard for this moment, and it was just hollow to lose the final like that," he said. "(Basile) executed his move really well. I will try to beat him next time."
An said he injured his left elbow in the match against Ebinuma, and it kept him from putting on some moves that he wanted to in the final.
"I know I should have overcome that, and it's just an excuse,"
An added while massaging the injured arm. "I'll keep trying harder and harder to make it to the Tokyo Olympics (in 2020)." (Yonhap)
