Korea aims to retrieve honor in judo

South Korean judokas are determined to prove they are a force to be reckoned with in Athens after suffering from no-gold disgrace in the 2000 Sydney Games. The humiliation was hardly bearable for South Korea's judo team, who had won at least one gold in the four previous Olympic Games in a row. Four years later now, they appear more than ready to wipe out the disgrace in Sydney.

"All of our members are in the world's top class and we will prove our strength in Athens," said Kwon Sung-sai, the men's team manager. He apparently has the reason to express such confidence.
South Korean judokas won three men's titles in last year's world championships, beating powerful rivals from Japan, the birthplace of the sport, and some European countries. The three world champions - Choi Min-ho, 24, Lee Won-hee, 23, and Hwang Hee-tae, 26 - will be at the forefront of South Korea's gold- medal hunt in Athens. In the men's lightest division of under 60-kilogram bantamweight, Choi faces Japan's Tadahiro Nomura, who aims for an unprecedented third straight Olympic title. They didn't meet in the 2003 world championships in Osaka, in which Nomura finished third.

Manager Kwon believes Choi, whose power has earned him the nickname, "Little Giant," is guaranteed gold if he continues to keep his pace. In the men's under 73-kilogram category, Lee went on a 48-fight winning streak in 2003 when he was finally defeated by the 1999 world champion Jimmy Pedro of the United States in the final of the Korea Cup. Of those 48 victories, 43 came by the maximum knockout ippon score.

He is known for his perfect skills and hatred to lose. The defeat to Pedro left him feel bitter but he has vowed to learn from it and improve. His possible contenders in Athens also include the 2001 world champion Vitali Makarov of Russia and Daniel Fernandes of France, the silver medallist in the 2003 world championships. Hwang beat the 2001 world titleholder Frederic Demontfaucon in the under 90-kilogram division final in last year's world championships, increasing expectations he will triumph in Athens.

Three other members of the South Korean judo team - Jang Sung-ho, 26, Kim Sung-bum, 25, and Kwon Young-woo, 23 - are also considered to have their own chance of winning a medal. Kim threw down Japan's Keiji Suzuki in the over 100-kilogram category final in the Asian championships this year. His victory over the 2003 open-class world titleholder further shattered Japan's efforts to uphold its long dominance in judo as the sport's native country. While the men's team hopes to have its best Olympics in Athens with a medal for every one, most of the South Korean women judokas appear below the world's top level. Lee Eun-hee in the 52-kilogram division and Lee Bok-hee in the 63-kilogram class are regarded as having some chance of coming close to winning a medal.

A total of 386 athletes from 90 countries will compete for 14 golds in judo competitions, which will be staged in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall from Aug. 14-20. The two judokas in a match - one in a white and the other in a blue uniform - compete for five minutes. One wins the match when marking a knockout ippon score by using a successful technique. If none of the judokas completes an ippon by the end of the game, the winner is the one to have scored more value points.South Korean judokas are determined to prove they are a force to be reckoned with in Athens after suffering from no-gold disgrace in the 2000 Sydney Games. The humiliation was hardly bearable for South Korea's judo team, who had won at least one gold in the four previous Olympic Games in a row. Four years later now, they appear more than ready to wipe out the disgrace in Sydney. "All of our members are in the world's top class and we will prove our strength in Athens," said Kwon Sung-sai, the men's team manager. He apparently has the reason to express such confidence.

South Korean judokas won three men's titles in last year's world championships, beating powerful rivals from Japan, the birthplace of the sport, and some European countries. The three world champions - Choi Min-ho, 24, Lee Won-hee, 23, and Hwang Hee-tae, 26 - will be at the forefront of South Korea's gold- medal hunt in Athens. In the men's lightest division of under 60-kilogram bantamweight, Choi faces Japan's Tadahiro Nomura, who aims for an unprecedented third straight Olympic title. They didn't meet in the 2003 world championships in Osaka, in which Nomura finished third.

Manager Kwon believes Choi, whose power has earned him the nickname, "Little Giant," is guaranteed gold if he continues to keep his pace. In the men's under 73-kilogram category, Lee went on a 48-fight winning streak in 2003 when he was finally defeated by the 1999 world champion Jimmy Pedro of the United States in the final of the Korea Cup. Of those 48 victories, 43 came by the maximum knockout ippon score.

He is known for his perfect skills and hatred to lose. The defeat to Pedro left him feel bitter but he has vowed to learn from it and improve. His possible contenders in Athens also include the 2001 world champion Vitali Makarov of Russia and Daniel Fernandes of France, the silver medallist in the 2003 world championships. Hwang beat the 2001 world titleholder Frederic Demontfaucon in the under 90-kilogram division final in last year's world championships, increasing expectations he will triumph in Athens.

Three other members of the South Korean judo team - Jang Sung-ho, 26, Kim Sung-bum, 25, and Kwon Young-woo, 23 - are also considered to have their own chance of winning a medal. Kim threw down Japan's Keiji Suzuki in the over 100-kilogram category final in the Asian championships this year. His victory over the 2003 open-class world titleholder further shattered Japan's efforts to uphold its long dominance in judo as the sport's native country. While the men's team hopes to have its best Olympics in Athens with a medal for every one, most of the South Korean women judokas appear below the world's top level. Lee Eun-hee in the 52-kilogram division and Lee Bok-hee in the 63-kilogram class are regarded as having some chance of coming close to winning a medal.

A total of 386 athletes from 90 countries will compete for 14 golds in judo competitions, which will be staged in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall from Aug. 14-20. The two judokas in a match - one in a white and the other in a blue uniform - compete for five minutes. One wins the match when marking a knockout ippon score by using a successful technique. If none of the judokas completes an ippon by the end of the game, the winner is the one to have scored more value points.