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Because of their proximity and similar sporting cultures, South Korea and Japan are frequent rivals in a wide variety of international sports.
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2012) |
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2012) |
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2012) |
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2012) |
South Korea and Japan has had a long history in judo, especially with the two nations' dominance in Asia.
In recent times, the rivalries have been greatest in the men's half-lightweight, lightweight and middleweight categories.
In the men's half-lightweight, rivalries stemmed to the quarter-final at the 2012 Olympic Games, that featured Japan's Masashi Ebinuma and South Korea's Cho Jun-ho. The decision was first called in Cho's favor, and then recalled to hand the win to Ebinuma. It is one of the most controversial fights in Olympic judo. [1] [2] [3]
Ebinuma had dominated the weight division from 2011-2014, winning three world championships, before South Korean An Baul broke his streak by winning the 2015 World Championships.
In the men's lightweight, Korea had a surge of dominance in the division with Wang Ki-chun, who won the world championships in 2007 and 2009. In 2010, Japan's Hiroyuki Akimoto took over Wang as the world champion, marking a new era of Japanese dominance in the men's lightweight. Fellow countrymen Riki Nakaya and Shohei Ono then shared domination, with Nakaya winning in 2011 and 2014, and Ono in 2013 and 2015. In the upcoming 2016 Olympics, it is widely thought that newly formed rivals Ono and Japanese-born Korean An Chang-rim will be favorites for gold. [4]
In the men's middleweight, one of Japan's weaker divisions alongside the half-middleweight, South Korea had the upper hand in the past decade, producing two world champions in the form of Lee Kyu-won (2009) and Gwak Dong-han (2015), and an Olympic champion in Song Dae-nam. Japan's closest finish in recent times was in 2010 and 2011 with Daiki Nishiyama's silver medals. Today, Gwak has formed a rivalry with several Japanese middleweights, most notably Nishiyama (3-3), Mashu Baker (2-1 in favor of Baker) and Yuya Yoshida (1-1), and will most likely compete against them at the 2016 Olympics. [5]
In the team's competition, Japan and South Korea rekindled their vie for the number one country in judo at the 2015 World Championships, meeting in the final. With wins from Ebinuma, reigning world champion Takanori Nagase and Takeshi Ojitani, Japan claimed their second consecutive team gold while Korea settled for silver in their first team fight in five years. [6]
Hong Myung-bo is a South Korean former footballer who played as a sweeper, and the current head coach of Ulsan Hyundai. Hong is often considered one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time.
The Japan national football team, nicknamed the Samurai Blue, represents Japan in men's international football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan.
The South Korea national football team represents South Korea in men's international football and is governed by the Korea Football Association. South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia since the 1980s, having participated in ten consecutive and eleven overall FIFA World Cup tournaments, the most for any Asian country. Despite initially going through five World Cup tournaments without winning a match, South Korea became the first Asian team to reach the semi-finals when they co-hosted the 2002 tournament with Japan. South Korea also won two AFC Asian Cup titles, and finished as runners-up on four occasions. Furthermore, the team won three gold medals and three silver medals at the senior Asian Games.
The North Korea national football team represents North Korea in men's international football and it is controlled by the DPR Korea Football Association, the governing body for Football in North Korea. The team represents both FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Rasul Boqiev is a Tajikistani judoka who competes in the –73 kg (lightweight) category. He has won bronze medal at the Judo World Championships and a bronze medal, Tajikistan's first ever Olympic medal, at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Hitoshi Saito was a Japanese judoka who won two consecutive gold medals at the Olympic games.
Masashi Ebinuma is a Japanese judoka. Ebinuma is a triple world champion, having won in 2011, 2013 and 2014. A dominant force in the half-lightweight division, he was ranked first in the world for three years. He is regarded as an ultimate stylist of seoi nage. He is also known for being a quadruple All-Japan national champion.
Riki Nakaya is a Japanese judoka. He is a two-time lightweight world champion and an Olympic silver medalist. He was also a finalist at the 2015 World Championships.
Song Dae-Nam is a former South Korean judoka.
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventeenth appearance at the Olympics. The Korean Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest ever delegation to the Games in Olympic history since 1984. A total of 205 athletes, 103 men and 101 women, competed in 24 sports.
Shohei Ono is a Japanese retired judoka.
Bang Gui-man is a South Korean judoka, who competed in the men's lightweight category. He represented his nation South Korea at the 2004 Summer Olympics, picked up four medals in the 66 and 73-kg division at the Asian Judo Championships, and recently earned a bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. Throughout his sporting career, Bang trained for Namyangju City Hall's elite judo squad under his longtime coach and mentor Cho In-chul.
Takanori Nagase is a Japanese judoka.
Gwak Dong-han is a South Korean judoka. He won the gold medal in the 90 kg event at the 2015 World Judo Championships. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the world.
An Chang-rim is a South Korean retired judoka.
An Ba-ul is a South Korean judoka.
Lee Seung-su is a South Korean judoka.
Hifumi Abe is a Japanese judoka.