Lee Hye-kyung and Heo Mimi win side-by-side silver medals at Asian Championships

Two members of the women's judo team that will compete at the Paris Olympics took home silver medals at the Asian Championships.

Women's 48kg Lee Hye-kyung (Gwangju Transportation Corporation) and 57kg Heo Mi-mi (Gyeongbuk Sports Federation) both reached the finals at the 2024 Asian Judo Championships at Kitek Star Hall in Hong Kong. Both Lee and Heo lost in the finals, but both came away with silver medals and are in great shape for the Olympics.

In the semifinals, Lee defeated China's Guo Zhongying with a cool half-legged takedown and half-up reversal to reach the final. In the final, she met Mongolia's Basankhu Bapudozhi and lost a waist takedown in the final. However, she finished the Asian Championships with a silver medal, having already booked her ticket to the Paris Olympics. Lee is ranked ninth in the International Judo Federation (IJF) Olympic rankings in the 48kg category.

Heo Mimi, ranked seventh in the 57kg Olympic category, reached the semifinals against Turkmenistan's Maisa Pardaieva in a half-legged takedown, but lost to Mongolia's Enkhrillen Lekagbatogu in the final. Hermimi has already qualified for the Olympics.