Kim Yu-jin (right) is attacking Nahid Kiyani Chande (Iran) with a side kick in the women’s 57kg class final of the taekwondo competition at the Paris Olympics on the 9th. Kim Yu-jin, who is 183cm tall, earned many points by using her long legs to kick from the quarterfinals to the finals.
“I think I did 10,000 kicks every time I worked out. I pushed myself so hard that it felt like I was going through hell every day when I went to work out.”
Kim Yu-jin (24), who won the gold medal in the women’s 57 kg class of taekwondo at the Paris Olympics on the 9th, said this in the mixed zone (joint press area) right after the match. Kim Yu-jin, ranked 24th in the world, defeated Nahid Kiyani Chande (Iran, ranked 2nd) with a round score of 2-0 (5-1, 9-0) in the final and climbed to the top of the podium.
On this day, Kim Yu-jin defeated the top rankers in her weight class one after another as if she was ‘breaking the dojo’. In the round of 16, she defeated 5th-ranked Hatidze Ilgwin (Turkiye), and in the quarterfinals, she defeated 4th-ranked Skylar Park (Canada) by round scores of 2-0. In the semifinals, she defeated world number 1 Luo Zongshi (China) by 2-1.
Despite her gentle appearance, Kim Yu-jin is a self-proclaimed standout. Son Hyo-bong, the national team coach who is guiding Kim Yu-jin, said, “She didn’t rest even a single day before the Olympics. She went straight to the training ground on the afternoon of the day she returned from European training,” and added, “If a player does this, a coach can’t help but follow. I also lost 10kg while teaching Yu-jin.”
Kim Yu-jin won the first round of the semifinals against Luo Zhongshi 7-0, but lost the second round 1-7. It was the only round she didn’t win in the entire Olympics. The situation could have easily turned to Luo Zhongshi. Kim Yu-jin said, “All the training I’ve done so far flashed before my eyes. I thought that I couldn’t give up here after overcoming all that tough training. I kicked even more tenaciously because I absolutely had to win.” Kim Yu-jin won 10-3 after successfully hitting three three-point head attacks from the beginning of the third round.
Not many expected Kim Yu-jin to win the gold medal. Kim Yu-jin had a hard time qualifying for this Olympics due to her low world ranking. The World Taekwondo Federation (WT) automatically grants Olympic qualification to the top five players in their weight class. Those who do not make it to the top five must go through the domestic and Asian continental qualifications separately. Kim Yu-jin passed all of these and grabbed the last train ticket to Paris. Kim Yu-jin said, “The world ranking is just a number. I didn’t even care about it.” The reason Kim Yu-jin’s world ranking dropped to 24th was largely due to a knee injury suffered before the 2022 Guadalajara World Championships. She spent about a year focusing on rehabilitation treatment after that and failed to perform well in international competitions. Having traveled a long way to reach this Olympics, she entered the competition in the best physical condition. Park Tae-jun (20), who won the gold medal in the men’s 58 kg class the day before, said, “I held the mitts for Eugene before she competed, and she looked really in good shape.” Kim Yu-jin also said, “I warmed up today, and I think I was in the best shape I’ve ever been in during my athletic career. So I thought to myself, ‘I can do it. ‘”
Kim Yu-jin said, “I want to eat pork belly and soybean paste stew the most,” right after winning the gold medal. Kim Yu-jin, who is 183cm tall, has been strictly managing her diet to maintain her weight for her weight class. She said, “I only ate one proper meal a day. The rest of the time, I ate according to the diet.” She added, “I can’t even remember when I last ate pork belly, which I like.”
The first person she thought of after winning the gold medal was her grandmother. Her grandmother reportedly made Kim Yu-jin learn self-defense when she was eight years old and made her do taekwondo. Kim Yu-jin expressed her gratitude by saying, “Grandma, I finally won the gold medal. Thank you so much for making me do taekwondo.” When asked to say something to her juniors, she smiled brightly and said, “Guys, the Olympics aren’t that big of a deal. You can do it too.” 파워볼사이트