Judo Athlete Jeong Su-jin, Disqualified After Failing to Make Weight: "The Coaching Staff Told Me I Wasn't Selected for the Weigh-In, So I Ate"

[Financial News] Jeong Su-jin of Yong In University, a member of South Korea's national judo team, claimed that she was unable to compete at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games because of a mistake by a national team coach after she was disqualified for failing to make weight on the day of her event.
 Jeong Su-jin made the statement on her social media account on the 4th.
 "I had a hard time passing the official weigh-in, but I did so. I also adjusted my food intake until the morning of the competition and managed to meet the 50.4-kilogram limit for the morning weigh-in before the draw," Jeong said. "The result of the morning weigh-in draw on the day of the competition was announced. After the director and coach checked it, they told me that only one male athlete from the same team had been selected and that I was not subject to the weigh-in."
She continued, "Because I had lost a lot of weight, they told me to start eating slowly and recover quickly. Trusting what they said, I prepared for my first match. I therefore consumed roughly 300 grams of porridge, 200 grams of bananas and 600 grams of sports drink while warming up."
 "However, I did not learn that I had been selected for the morning weigh-in until 15 minutes before it ended," she said. "From then on, I vomited everything I had eaten, cut my hair and kept running. I did everything I could until the last moment to make weight, but I was still more than 100 grams over the limit."
 She added, "I had no choice but to end the first Asian Games of my life, for which I had prepared so desperately, by failing to make weight. As a national team athlete, it was certainly also my responsibility that I did not personally check the result of the weigh-in draw. However, it was also natural for an athlete to follow the coach's instructions, as I had done until then."
 Jeong said, "After this happened, the coaches were busy training the remaining athletes, leaving only the message that they would take responsibility after returning home, while I faced a barrage of criticism. This morning, as we were returning to Korea, the director told me that the matter had to be wrapped up this way for it to end quietly."
 Jeong had been scheduled to face Aliya Muminova of Tajikistan in the women's 48-kilogram round of 16 on September 30 at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. However, she was eliminated that morning after failing the random weigh-in.
The allowable weigh-in limit is 5% above the weight class limit. In the 48-kilogram class, Jeong was allowed to weigh up to 50.4 kilograms, but she exceeded the limit by 100 grams in the random weigh-in.
 The Korea Judo Association is aware of the situation and is reportedly planning to determine the facts and take action through an internal review after the national team returns home.

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