In the semi-final, he faced a major challenge in the form of world and Olympic medallist Joonhwan Lee (KOR), two years his senior and equally capable of producing judo that combines technical precision and explosive power. It was Lee who emerged victorious after a high-level contest in which he scored twice, leaving the reigning world champion without an answer. Lee therefore secured his place in the final.
In the lower half of the draw, the scenario was much clearer as the two favourites, François Gauthier Drapeau (CAN) and Yuhei Oino (JPN), met in the semi-final. The suspense did not last long. With exceptional timing and finesse, Oino scored with a spectacular de-ashi-harai for ippon from the very first gripping exchange, confirming his place in the final.
The gold medal contest therefore brought together two of the strongest athletes of the day, Joonhwan Lee and Yuhei Oino. Through the competition, Lee had looked increasingly confident, precise and incisive, as though each contest was preparing him for one final demonstration of his talent. In the final, he produced perhaps the most spectacular technique of the entire final block. A superb ippon ko-uchi-gari, combined with a powerful change of direction, left Oino with no chance of escape. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day for the Korean judoka, who captured the gold medal in impressive fashion.
Joonhwan Lee declared, "It feels incredible to win in Ulaanbaatar again after a year away from this tournament. I’ve spent the last year itching to compete and analysing my opponents deeply, so seeing that hard work pay off today is amazing. However, with more than two years left until the Los Angeles Olympics, I can't lose focus. Beating top athletes today doesn’t guarantee a victory next time, especially since they will now be studying me even closer. That’s why I constantly live and breathe judo, even during my downtime. My ultimate goal isn’t just a single gold medal in LA; I want to win again in Australia afterwards to become the first Korean judoka to achieve back-to-back Olympic titles. People say I'm young but there are already younger world champions out there. Today's win doesn't make me the best in the world yet, so I'm going to work myself to death and train as hard as possible until the Olympics."
The first bronze medal contest promised to be anything but easy for François Gauthier Drapeau (CAN), who faced the reigning world champion Timur Arbuzov (RUS). Despite his determination and attacking spirit, the Canadian could not find a solution against a Russian judoka who proved too strong on the day.
In the second bronze medal contest, young Mihajlo Simin (SRB), only 21 years old, faced the experienced Matthias Casse (BEL) in a clash between youth and experience. Unimpressed by his distinguished opponent, the Serbian judoka claimed victory in golden score. After absorbing a series of attacks from Casse, Simin slipped underneath the Belgian's centre of gravity to execute a seoi-otoshi for yuko. This is already the second grand slam medal of his young career.
Final (-81 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-81 kg)
