Korean judoka Jeong Su-jin blames coaches for Asian Games weigh-in disqualification
In short
Korean judo athlete Jeong Su-jin says she was disqualified from the women’s 48kg event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept. 30 after exceeding the 50.4kg weigh-in limit by more than 100g. In a social media post on Oct. 4, she said the head coach and a coach told her she was not a random weigh-in subject and to eat, and that she learned only 15 minutes before the weigh-in closed that this was wrong. The Korea Judo Association said it is aware of the matter and will establish the facts through an internal review after the team returns on the 13th.
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Korean judo national-team athlete Jeong Su-jin was disqualified from the women’s 48kg event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after failing a random weigh-in on the morning of Sept. 30, ahead of her round-of-16 bout against Aliya Muminova of Tajikistan. Yonhap and other outlets reported that she exceeded the 50.4kg limit — the 48kg class plus a 5% allowance — by more than 100g. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
In a social media post on Oct. 4, Jeong said she had cleared the official weigh-in and had kept her weight to 50.4kg through the morning of the competition by controlling her food intake. She said the head coach and a coach checked the random draw results and told her that only one male teammate had been selected and that she was not a weigh-in subject, and told her to eat slowly and recover after losing so much weight. She said she then ate about 300g of porridge, 200g of banana and 600g of an ion drink while warming up. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
Jeong said she learned that she was in fact a weigh-in subject 15 minutes before the morning weigh-in closed. From then, she said, she vomited everything she had eaten, cut her hair and kept running to make the weight, but ended up more than 100g over, closing out what she called the first Asian Games of her life in disqualification. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
She also said that after the incident the coaches left only a promise to take responsibility after returning home while they were busy coaching the remaining athletes, and that she faced a wave of criticism. She said the head coach told her on the morning of the team’s departure for Korea that the matter had to be wrapped up that way to end quietly. The documents contain no response from the coaches to these claims. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
Judo holds the official weigh-in the day before, then draws random weigh-in subjects at least one hour before the competition starts the next morning and notifies team officials. Dong-A Ilbo reported that the draw is usually made about an hour before the 11 a.m. start. A Korea Judo Association official told Yonhap that the body was aware of the matter, and that the national team is due to return on the 13th after the world championships, after which it plans to hold an internal review to establish the facts and take appropriate measures. [ 2 , 4 , 6 , 11 ]
Jeong, a Yongin University athlete, won bronze medals at the junior Asian championships in 2024 and 2025 and had been expected to contend for a medal at these Games. Reports differ on how old she is, describing her as either 20 or 21. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
Why it matters
The case now turns on the Korea Judo Association’s internal review, which the association says will establish the facts after the national team returns on the 13th. It puts the division of responsibility between athletes and coaches over weigh-in procedures — a routine but decisive part of judo competition — under scrutiny. Jeong’s public statement is a rare instance of a Korean national-team athlete openly attributing a disqualification to her coaches.
Key facts
- Jeong Su-jin of Yongin University failed the random weigh-in and was disqualified ahead of her women’s 48kg round-of-16 bout against Aliya Muminova of Tajikistan at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept. 30. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- She exceeded the 50.4kg limit — the 48kg class plus a 5% allowance — by more than 100g. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- Jeong said the head coach and a coach told her only one male teammate had been drawn and that she was not a weigh-in subject, and told her to eat and recover. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- She said she ate about 300g of porridge, 200g of banana and 600g of an ion drink while preparing for her first match. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- She said she learned 15 minutes before the weigh-in closed that she was a subject, then vomited, cut her hair and kept running, but was still more than 100g over. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- A Korea Judo Association official said the body is aware of the matter and will hold an internal review after the team returns on the 13th following the world championships. [ 2 , 6 ]
- Jeong won bronze medals at the junior Asian championships in 2024 and 2025. [ 2 , 11 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Jeong Su-jin failed the random weigh-in and was disqualified from the women’s 48kg round of 16 at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sept. 30. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- Jeong said in a social media post on Oct. 4 that the head coach and a coach told her she was not a weigh-in subject and to eat. [ 2 , 4 , 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]
- Jeong said she ate roughly 300g of porridge, 200g of banana and 600g of an ion drink. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- Jeong said she tried to lose the excess by vomiting, cutting her hair and running, but exceeded the limit by more than 100g. [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]
- The Korea Judo Association said it was aware of the matter and would review the facts after the team returns on the 13th. [ 2 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the coaches actually relayed incorrect weigh-in information, and whether anyone will be held responsible. The Korea Judo Association said it will establish the facts through an internal review; no conclusion has been reported, and the documents contain no response from the coaches.
- Whether the head coach told Jeong that the matter had to end quietly. This appears only in Jeong’s social media post as reported by outlets; no coach or team response to the claim appears in the documents.
- Jeong’s age. Reports describe her as both 20 and 21; the documents do not resolve the discrepancy.
- The exact timing of the random weigh-in and how the draw was communicated to the team. The account of learning she was a subject 15 minutes before the weigh-in closed comes from Jeong’s post only, and the documents give no independent confirmation.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Sept. 30: scheduled start of the judo competition in Nagoya; the random weigh-in subjects are normally drawn about an hour before the start. [ 4 ]
- Kukmin Ilbo reports Jeong’s claims about her weigh-in disqualification. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reports the full text of Jeong’s social media post and the Korea Judo Association’s position. [ 2 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports Jeong’s claim that the coaching staff gave her wrong information. [ 3 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reports the claim that the head coach told her to eat. [ 7 ]
- CBS NoCut News publishes a detailed account of Jeong’s allegations. [ 11 ]