[Nagoya AG] Song Dabin Challenges for Korea's First Taekwondo Gold... Moon Jinho and Kang Sanghyun Take Bronze

South Korean national Taekwondo athlete Song Dabin has advanced to the finals of the women's division at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, thereby securing at least a silver medal. Teammates Moon Jinho and Kang Sanghyun, who also aimed for the finals, were defeated in their respective semifinals and each took home a bronze medal.

On October 3, at the Toyohashi General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Song Dabin faced Fatemeh Ahmadi of Iran in the women's over 67kg Taekwondo sparring semifinal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Song Dabin won the match by round scores of 2-0 (7-1, 2-0), advancing to the finals.

In the first round, Song Dabin scored an early two points with a body attack and followed up with a successful headshot, claiming a comfortable 7-1 victory. In the second round, she effectively blocked her opponent's attacks to keep the score close, and with just two seconds remaining, landed a side kick to the body to secure a 2-0 win in the round and clinch the match.

Song Dabin is leaving the arena after defeating Iran's Fatemeh Ahmadi in the women's 67kg semifinals of the taekwondo sparring event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 3rd at the Toyohashi General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

With her advancement to the finals, Song Dabin has secured at least a silver medal and will now challenge for South Korea’s first gold in Taekwondo sparring at this tournament. On the previous day, Korea settled for bronze medals only, with Ahn Hyangshik in the men’s 58kg and Kwak Minjoo in the women’s 67kg divisions.

In the men’s 68kg semifinals, Moon Jinho suffered a come-from-behind defeat to Banlung Tubtimdang of Thailand, losing 1-2 by round score (9-0, 0-14, 5-5) and earning the bronze medal. In the third round, after a fierce back-and-forth resulting in a 5-5 tie, Tubtimdang was awarded the win by superiority, narrowly ending Moon Jinho’s hopes of reaching the final.

Kang Sanghyun, who was considered a strong gold medal contender in the men’s over 80kg division after winning back-to-back world championships, was also ousted in the semifinals. Kang lost to Marat Mavlonov of Uzbekistan by round score of 0-2 (8-15, 8-8).

The second round proved to be Kang Sanghyun’s downfall. He took a commanding lead at 8-2 with a series of body attacks early in the round and was close to forcing a third round by winning the second. However, with only three seconds left, Kang allowed a spinning head kick, conceding six points at once and allowing his opponent to tie the score at 8-8. As a result, Kang failed to push the match to a third round and finished his competition at this stage.

South Korea has won both gold medals up for grabs in the poomsae events at this tournament so far, but in sparring—where eight gold medals are at stake—the team has yet to claim gold. On the previous day, Korea managed just two bronze medals across four weight classes, and as of October 3, has added another two bronze medals, leaving only Song Dabin’s gold medal challenge remaining.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.