South Korean taekwondo athlete Moon Jin-ho (Korea National Sport University) has claimed victory at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix for the second consecutive time.
On October 10, local time, in Levallois-Perret, near Paris, Moon defeated Uzbekistan's Nazmidin Koshimhojiev in the men's 68kg final with a round score of 2-0 (14-12, 10-0) to secure the gold medal.
Following his gold medal win at the Muju Grand Prix last month, Moon has maintained his position as the World Taekwondo (WT) Olympic ranking No. 1 in this weight class. He also overcame the disappointment of winning a bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Koshimhojiev, Moon's final opponent, is a formidable competitor, having won the men's 74kg title at the 2025 Wuxi World Championships. Utilizing his height of 192cm and long legs, Moon launched effective attacks. He took control of the match by scoring a body shot just before the end of the first round, which ended in a tie at 12-12. In the second round, he skillfully defended against Koshimhojiev's advances, accumulating points without conceding any, ultimately securing the victory.
After the match, Moon expressed his feelings through WT, stating, "I prepared very hard for the Asian Games, so I was quite disappointed with the results. I promised myself to do well in Paris, and I am happy to have achieved a good result here."
He added, "I will train harder for the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in November and work on my weaknesses. I aim to win the final to maintain my Olympic ranking at No. 1. I also want to win the world championship next year and compete as the world No. 1 at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, aiming for a gold medal."
Earlier, in the semifinals, Moon defeated Jang Jun (Korea Gas Corporation) with a round score of 2-1 (15-6, 3-4, 1-1). Jang, who lost to Moon, went on to secure a bronze medal.
As of now, South Korea has recorded one gold medal, one silver medal, and one bronze medal, including the silver medal won by Park Tae-jun (Kyung Hee University) on the first day of the tournament.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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