Korean national judo team targets at least two golds in Rio

Korean national judo team aims to collect at least two gold medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, sources at the Korea Judo Association (KJA) said Thursday.

Korea, the world No. 3 in the Olympic judo medal rankings with 11 gold, 14 silver and 15 bronze medals, will have 12 judokas -- seven men and five women --- in Brazil. This is the first time since the 2004 Athens Olympics that the country failed to send judokas in all weight divisions. In Rio, there will be no South Koreans competing in women's 52kg and 78kg.

But KJA insiders said the field of fewer competitors won't be a big problem for its Olympic plans, because all medal hopefuls have secured their tickets to Rio.

The association expects Korea to grab some gold medals in the first three days of the judo event in Rio. Kim Won-jin in 60kg will first open the door on Aug. 6, followed by An Ba-ul in 66kg on Aug. 7 and An Chang-rim in 73kg on Aug. 8. All three men are ranked No. 1 in the world in their weight divisions.

On the women's side, Kim Jan-di in 57kg is looking for a podium finish on Aug. 8. She is ranked No. 2 in the world.

The national judo team has a tight schedule before going to Rio.

The judokas have been training at the Taeneung National Training Center in northern Seoul since Sunday. For a warm-up, the KJA said that seven judokas -- three men and four women -- will compete at the World Judo Masters event in Mexico. Those who are ranked No. 16 or better can compete at the event in Guadalajara that runs from May 27 to 29.

After the tournament, the national team will travel to Japan, where judo was born. Japan, which has won 34 gold, 18 silver and 18 bronze medals in Olympic judo, most among all countries, will be Korea's biggest rival in Rio.

The KJA said that the national team will stay in Japan about a week and will train with collegiate judo players.

"In Japan, even judokas in college have great skills," an official from the KJA said. "We decided to go to Japan so that our players can adjust to the style of Japanese judokas and gain experience."

After their training in Japan, South Koreans judo will return to the Taeneung National Training Center. They will travel to Brazil on July 20 and set up a training camp in Santos. The national team will enter the athletes' village in Rio on Aug. 3. (Yonhap)