"We Nearly Suffered the Humiliation of a Kyorugi Gold-Medal Shutout..." Song Da-bin's Golden Kick Rescues Taekwondo's Founding Nation from the Brink [2026 Asian Games]

[Financial News] It was a desperate crisis in which the pride of taekwondo's founding nation nearly hit rock bottom. With the unprecedented humiliation of going without a gold medal in kyorugi looming, Song Da-bin of the Ulsan Metropolitan Sports Council delivered a thrilling golden kick to pull South Korean taekwondo back from the brink.
Song Da-bin defeated China's Mu Wen-jeo 2-1 in round scores (4-2, 4-10, 8-5) in the women's over-67kg final at the taekwondo kyorugi competition held on the 3rd at Toyohashi General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. She stood atop the podium at the 2026 Asian Games.
Song Da-bin's gold medal was worth more than a simple victory. It was the first gold medal for South Korean taekwondo kyorugi, which had struggled throughout the competition. Thanks to Song Da-bin's invaluable triumph, South Korean taekwondo narrowly preserved its proud tradition of winning at least one gold medal at every one of the 10 Asian Games held from the 1986 Seoul Games, when kyorugi was first adopted as an official event, through the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya. In this division, South Korea also reclaimed the title for the first time in eight years since Lee Da-bin won at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, restoring the pride of taekwondo's founding nation.


The path to gold was both dominant and dramatic. After decisively defeating athletes from Bahrain and Jordan 2-0 in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively, Song Da-bin easily overcame Iran's Fatemeh Ahmadi 2-0 in the semifinals. She reached the final in perfect form without surrendering a single round.
The final against China's Mu Wen-jeo turned into a tense battle. After a cautious opening, Song Da-bin landed two sharp body attacks in the first round to take an early 4-2 lead. But in the second round, she conceded a series of body and head attacks amid her opponent's fierce counterattack. A late penalty compounded her troubles, and she dropped the round 4-10 to leave the round score tied at 1-1.



In the decisive third round, Song Da-bin regained her focus and built a 4-0 lead with consecutive body attacks. With 50 seconds remaining, she landed a crucial left-foot body kick to extend her advantage to 6-2. Mu Wen-jeo then caught her with a surprise head attack, narrowing the gap to 6-5 and creating a heart-stopping crisis. But just before the final buzzer, Song Da-bin cleanly connected with another body attack to seal the breathless contest at 8-5.
The girl who first put on a dobok in elementary school while following her older brother, and who nurtured dreams of joining the national team after watching the 2016 Rio Olympics, has now conquered her first Asian Games. Following her victory at last year's Summer World University Games and her triumph at last month's Muju Grand Prix, she has fully blossomed into Asia's strongest athlete. South Korean taekwondo had already collected two gold medals in the men's and women's individual poomsae events through Yoon Gyu-seong and Jung Ha-eun. With Song Da-bin's gold, the team has now delivered three gold-medal victories at these Games.

[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter