Song Da-bin wins South Korea's only taekwondo sparring gold at Asian Games
In short
Song Da-bin won the women's over-67kg taekwondo sparring gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Toyohashi, Japan, beating China's Mu Wen 2-1 in the final for South Korea's only gold in sparring, Asia Economy reported. Moon Jin-ho in the men's 68kg and Kang Sang-hyun in the men's over-80kg took bronze after semifinal losses, since the event holds no separate bronze-medal bouts. Kim Yu-jin, the Paris 2024 57kg champion, lost in the quarterfinals and won no medal.
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South Korea's Song Da-bin won gold in the women's over-67kg taekwondo sparring event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, beating China's Mu Wen 2-1 (4-2, 4-10, 8-5) in the final at the Toyohashi General Sports Hall in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Asia Economy reported. Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Shinmun reported the win as the taekwondo sparring team's first gold medal of the Games. [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Asia Economy reported that it was South Korea's only gold among the eight sparring golds decided at the Games, and that the country finished with three taekwondo golds in all once two golds from poomsae were included. [ 5 ]
Song had secured at least silver earlier in the day by beating Iran's Fatemeh Ahmadi 2-0 (7-1, 2-0) in the semifinal, Asia Economy reported. She took a 2-0 lead in the first round with a body attack before landing a head kick to win it 7-1, the outlet said. [ 3 ]
In the men's 68kg, Moon Jin-ho, 19, of Korea National Sport University, took bronze in his first Asian Games, Hankook Ilbo reported. He lost the semifinal to Thailand's Banlang Tabtimdaeng by round score 1-2 (9-0, 0-14, 5-5 superiority decision); after winning the first round 9-0 he conceded the second 0-14, and in the third a Thai head attack was annulled and a penalty awarded to give him a 1-0 lead before he conceded body attacks to trail 1-4. The round ended 5-5 and the referee declared Tabtimdaeng the winner on superiority. Asia Economy reported that Moon had earlier beaten Kazakhstan's Samirkhon Ababakirov 2-0 (12-9, 9-6) in the quarterfinal. [ 1 , 2 ]
Kang Sang-hyun beat Thailand's Jack Mercer 2-0 (17-2, 15-0) in the men's over-80kg quarterfinal before losing in the semifinal and taking bronze, according to Asia Economy. Because the Games held no separate bronze-medal bouts, both semifinal losers received bronze. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Kim Yu-jin, the 2024 Paris Olympics 57kg gold medalist and a leading gold-medal candidate, lost 0-2 to China's Zhang Chuling in the women's 57kg quarterfinal and won no medal, Asia Economy reported. [ 1 ]
Hankook Ilbo later headlined Song's remarks after the win as “shoulders heavy, feet light”. [ 8 ]
Why it matters
The result is being framed by Korean outlets as protecting the pride of taekwondo's home country, after Asia Economy reported South Korea took only one of the eight sparring golds on offer and a favoured Olympic champion, Kim Yu-jin, went out early. The coverage is results-driven sports reporting, so its significance is chiefly to the Korean team's standing at these Games rather than to wider readers.
Key facts
- Song Da-bin won the women's over-67kg taekwondo sparring gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, beating China's Mu Wen 2-1 (4-2, 4-10, 8-5) in the final in Toyohashi, Japan. [ 5 ]
- Asia Economy reported that it was South Korea's only gold among the eight taekwondo sparring golds decided at the Games. [ 5 , 7 ]
- Moon Jin-ho took bronze in the men's 68kg after losing his semifinal to Thailand's Banlang Tabtimdaeng; he had beaten Kazakhstan's Samirkhon Ababakirov 2-0 in the quarterfinal. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Kang Sang-hyun took bronze in the men's over-80kg after beating Thailand's Jack Mercer 2-0 in the quarterfinal and losing in the semifinal. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Taekwondo sparring at the Games had no separate bronze-medal matches, so both semifinal losers received bronze. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Kim Yu-jin, the 2024 Paris Olympics 57kg gold medalist, lost 0-2 to China's Zhang Chuling in the women's 57kg quarterfinal and won no medal, Asia Economy reported. [ 1 ]
- Song Da-bin reached the final by beating Iran's Fatemeh Ahmadi 2-0 (7-1, 2-0) in the semifinal. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Song Da-bin won gold in the women's taekwondo sparring competition at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]
- Song Da-bin's gold was South Korea's only gold in taekwondo sparring at the Games. [ 5 , 7 ]
- Moon Jin-ho won bronze in the men's 68kg. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The taekwondo sparring competition had no separate bronze-medal matches, so semifinal losers were awarded bronze. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- South Korea's full taekwondo medal tally at the Games, including two poomsae golds for a total of three golds and one of eight sparring golds. Reported only by Asia Economy; no other document in the set gives a medal count.
- The name of Song Da-bin's final opponent, Mu Wen of China, and the round scores of the final. Stated only by Asia Economy in its report on the final.
- Kim Yu-jin's quarterfinal defeat to China's Zhang Chuling in the women's 57kg. Single-source claim, reported only by Asia Economy, with no reaction or further detail from other outlets.
- What Song Da-bin said after winning the gold. Available only as a headline phrase in Hankook Ilbo (“shoulders heavy, feet light”); no article text or fuller remarks were provided.
- Kang Sang-hyun won bronze in the men's over-80kg. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Asia Economy reports that Moon Jin-ho, Song Da-bin and Kang Sang-hyun have reached the semifinals, securing at least bronze medals. [ 1 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports Moon Jin-ho lost his men's 68kg semifinal to Thailand's Banlang Tabtimdaeng and took bronze in his first Asian Games. [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy reports Song Da-bin beat Iran's Fatemeh Ahmadi 2-0 to reach the final, while Moon Jin-ho and Kang Sang-hyun took bronze. [ 3 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports Song Da-bin has won gold, the taekwondo sparring team's first at the Games. [ 4 ]
- Asia Economy reports the final score of 2-1 over China's Mu Wen and that South Korea took one of the eight sparring golds. [ 5 ]
- Seoul Shinmun reports Song Da-bin's gold as the sparring team's first. [ 6 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports Song Da-bin's gold as South Korea's only one in sparring. [ 7 ]
- Hankook Ilbo headlines Song Da-bin's remarks after the win as “shoulders heavy, feet light”. [ 8 ]