Korean men's boxing reached the finals for the first time in 12 years, but fell short of winning gold. Nonetheless, the tournament showcased potential for the future.
On October 2, Jang Dong-hwan lost to Uzbekistan's Abdumalik Halikov in the men's 60kg final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with a score of 0-5. Halikov, ranked first in the world in this weight class, previously won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in the 57kg category. Jang struggled against Halikov's experienced tactics during the match.
After the match, Jang told reporters, "I originally planned to lure my opponent in the first round and use outboxing, but he was too fast and had long arms, so it didn’t work. He expertly clinched to prevent me from landing punches. He definitely showed the composure and skill of an Olympic champion." He added, "I changed to the 60kg class and hadn’t won a single match in two years, but reaching the finals in this tournament gave me a lot of confidence. I was very upset and cried a lot because I couldn’t win."
Kim Min-seong also faced disappointment in the men's 80kg final, losing 0-4 to India's Ankush. Only a judge from Uzbekistan scored the match in Kim's favor. However, due to point deductions, the final score from the Uzbek judge was recorded as 28-28, a tie. Unlike Jang, who faced a top-ranked opponent, Kim lost to a similarly ranked competitor, leaving him with regrets.
Kim expressed, "I thought I would win, so I’m very disappointed. I think I became complacent after defeating several top contenders in the preliminaries, thinking I could easily win against my opponent. That was my mistake." He also apologized, saying, "It’s been 12 years since two Korean boxers reached the finals, and many people supported us, but we couldn’t show our best performances."
Korean men's boxing has struggled to secure gold medals at the Asian Games for an extended period. The last gold medals were won by Shin Jong-hoon (49kg) and Ham Sang-myung (56kg) at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. However, this tournament marked an improvement from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, where the only medal was a bronze by Jeong Jae-min (92kg).
In this context, Jang and Kim demonstrated their potential. Both are young athletes, born in 2004 and 2005, respectively. If they continue to hone their skills, they could achieve significant success at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2030 Doha Asian Games.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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