S. Korean judoka Jeong defends under-78kg title

Published : Sept 22, 2014 - 22:10 Updated : Sept 22, 2014 - 22:10

South Korean female judoka Jeong Gyeong-mi defended her Asiad under-78 kilogram title after defeating North Koreas's Sol Kyong at the Asian Games on Monday.

Zhang Zhehui from China and Mami Umeki from Japan shared bronze.

Ranking eighth in the world, Jeong became the first South Korean female judo fighter to win two straight golds at the Asian Games. In the 2010 Guangzhou Asiad, Jeong had won the 78㎏ event.

Jeong and Sol had some skirmishes in the four-minute battle, but neither was able to put down decisive techniques. In the end, the winner was decided based on the number of penalties.

"Preparing for the Asiad, the training was so hard that I wanted to give up," said Jeong. "I want to thank my coach and staff who led me to this stage."

The gold medalist said she was on the edge of her seat ahead of the final against Sol, even though they became close friends after frequent international encounters.

Last year, Jeong had beaten Sol at the Asian Judo Championships last year.

Sol had been involved in another inter-Korean match in judo four years ago, having lost to the South's Hwang Ye-sul in the women's 70㎏ at the Guangzhou Asiad after using a banned technique.

The North Korean judoka later on moved up to the under 78kg weight class and won the 2013 world championship.

By Kim Young-won and news reports (wone0102@heraldcorp.com">wone0102@heraldcorp.com)