South Korean jiu-jitsu athlete Koo Bon-cheol, 26, has won gold at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.

Koo defeated Abdullah Munparedi by advantage (4-1) in the men's 77-kilogram jiu-jitsu final at the Shaoshan Linfu Gymnasium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, on Saturday (June 6).

Koo continued his momentum in the final after defeating Mahdi Alablaq (UAE) with an advantage (1-0) in the semifinals.

This was the first medal for Korean jiu-jitsu at the event.

Jiu-jitsu made its Asian Games debut at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. South Korea won one gold and one bronze medal at the 2018 Games.

Speaking to the organizing committee after the competition, Koo said, "There are no easy matches. This competition was very difficult for me. I'm an introverted person, so I worry a lot about my performance. Thanks to all the people who supported me, I was able to win the gold medal."

"I train a lot more than my peers," he said, "I have a lot of shortcomings, but my family always believes in me and supports me. I could not have come this far without them," he said.

With just over four minutes left in the game, Koo had a nosebleed from his opponent's rough play. "I had suffered a nose injury when I lost to a Taiwanese fighter at the previous World Jiu-Jitsu Championships, so I was worried when I got a nosebleed today," Koo recalled.

Koo Bon-cheol, who fought his way back into the match after stopping the bleeding, stood atop the podium with a story to tell.

"I've played against him before, so I knew he was a very strong opponent," said Moon Paredi, analyzing his loss, "but I was surprised when he changed his strategy at the beginning of the match, so I fell behind for the rest of the match." 스포츠토토맨