South Korea's top weightlifters, Won Jong-beom (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office) and Kim Sung-min (Gyeongsangnam-do Office), fell short of winning medals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On September 28, at the Nagoya Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Hall in Aichi Prefecture, Won attempted to lift 170kg in all three rounds of the men's 95kg final but was unable to succeed, resulting in him not reaching the podium in the overall standings.
Ranked second in the world, Won had high expectations after winning the overall title at the World Championships for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024. However, he ended his Asian Games journey without a medal, following a similar outcome at the Hangzhou Games.
Kim Sung-min also competed on the same day in the men's 85kg final A group, finishing sixth with lifts of 155kg in the snatch, 196kg in the clean and jerk, and a total of 351kg. The gold medal in this category went to North Korea's Ro Kwang-ryol, who lifted 165kg in the snatch, 214kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 379kg.
North Korea's weightlifting team has now secured seven gold medals in this competition, with victories from athletes including Park Myung-jin in the men's 65kg, Ri Won-joo in the men's 70kg, and several female competitors including Ri Seong-geum in the women's 49kg and Kang Hyun-kyung in the women's 53kg categories, among others.
In contrast, South Korea's weightlifting team had previously won one gold, two silver, and three bronze medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, but has yet to secure any medals in this tournament.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.