Korea Taekwondo figure Jang Jun (Korea Gas Corporation) once again proved his presence on the world stage.
Jang Jun on the 25th (Korea time) at the Taihu International Expo Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, in the semifinals of the men's 63 kg division at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships, narrowly lost to Iran's Mahdi Hajimousaei 1-2 (7-9, 4-4, 6-8).
After dropping the first round 7-9, Jang Jun in the second round unsettled his opponent with his trademark fast kicks and unorthodox distance control, resulting in a 4-4 draw and a win on superiority.
He seemed to regain the flow of the match, but in the final third round he conceded points to the Iranian's powerful left turning kick, crushing his chance to advance to the final.
Because the World Taekwondo Championships award joint third place to semifinal losers, Jang Jun secured the bronze medal.
This is his third medal overall at the world championships. It is especially valuable because he achieved this result after moving up a weight class to challenge himself.
Previously, Jang Jun won the gold medal at the 2019 Manchester competition and the silver medal at the 2022 Guadalajara competition.
This tournament is particularly meaningful to him. After failing to qualify in last year's Paris Olympics selection trials, he abandoned his previous 58 kg class and moved up to the 63 kg class.
As a result of enduring harsh training to adapt to unfamiliar weight and rhythm, he succeeded in his comeback by winning a medal in his first world championships appearance at the new weight.
It is the first time in 12 years that a South Korean male athlete has medaled in the world championships 63 kg division since Lee Dae-hoon (gold) in 2013. This achievement, therefore, protects not only his personal pride but also the pride of Korean men's taekwondo.
Meanwhile, Kim Hyang-gi (Seoul Physical Education High School) in the women's 49 kg division was eliminated in the round of 16 after a tight match and failed to reach the medal rounds.
However, the Korean taekwondo team still maintains competitiveness on the world stage through steady generational change and weight-class transitions.<
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited)
[OSEN]