Dramatic Ippon Victory After Battling Through Knee Injuries... Judo's Joonhwan Lee Wins a Medal at His Second Straight Asian Games [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] Joonhwan Lee (Pohang City Hall) won a bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya despite injuries to both knees. Although he was unable to properly execute his signature seoi-nage, he found a way through with a variety of techniques and earned medals at two consecutive Games.
In the men's 81-kg bronze-medal match held at Aichi Sky Expo in Japan on the 1st, Joonhwan Lee defeated Iran's Elias Farhizgar with an ippon victory after a tense overtime battle.
Joonhwan Lee is known for his fast and powerful seoi-nage, so much so that the International Judo Federation (IJF) nicknamed him "Lightning Man." However, he faced adversity after tearing a ligament in his left knee last year and injuring his right knee at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam in June this year.
The effects of injuries to both knees also made it difficult for him to compete normally at these Games. Because he had trouble bending his knees, he was unable to properly execute even his signature seoi-nage.
Joonhwan Lee sought a breakthrough by using a variety of techniques. In the quarterfinals, he scored a yuko with a belt-grip throw against Hong Kong's Lee Kwok-wing, then secured a waza-ari with ouchi-gari to win.
In the semifinals, he stayed in contention against Japan's Sotaro Fujiwara by drawing two shidos. However, his hopes of reaching the final were dashed when he conceded a waza-ari via uchi-mata in overtime.
The crisis continued in the bronze-medal match. With the effects of his knee injuries repeatedly thwarting his seoi-nage attempts, Joonhwan Lee also conceded a yuko just 17 seconds into overtime.
However, a video review canceled the opponent's score, giving him a chance to turn the match around. Joonhwan Lee immediately secured a dramatic bronze medal with an ippon victory via a knee-on-arm lock.
Meanwhile, after winning silver at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Joonhwan Lee also reached the podium at these Games, earning medals at two consecutive Asian Games.
[email protected] Lee Dong-hyuk Reporter