Just 100 grams kept her off the mat. Jung Su-jin, 21, a rising star of South Korean women's judo from Yongin University, cleared the official weigh-in a day earlier but was disqualified after exceeding the allowed weight by only 100 grams in a random check on the morning of her match. Competing in her first Asian Games, Jung finished the individual event without facing a single opponent.
Cleared Official Weigh-In, Undone by Random Check on Match Day
Jung was scheduled to face Aliya Muminova of Tajikistan in the round of 16 of the women's 48-kilogram division at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on the 30th.
Jung never appeared on the mat. The result was recorded as "DSQ," indicating disqualification.
According to the Korea Judo Association, Jung met the entry standard at the official weigh-in held the previous day. The problem came in the random weigh-in conducted on the morning of the match.
Under the Asian Games judo technical handbook, four athletes per weight class are drawn at random on match day and weighed again. Their weight may exceed the official maximum for the class by up to 5%.
For the 48-kilogram division, that allows up to 50.4 kilograms. Jung was reported to have exceeded that limit by 100 grams in the random weigh-in. Even an athlete who clears the official weigh-in the day before cannot compete if she exceeds the limit on the day of the match.
The International Judo Federation runs the match-day random weigh-in system to discourage extreme dehydration and excessive weight cutting. Jung was among those selected in the draw and lost her eligibility after failing this final weight check.
A Prospect With Back-to-Back Junior Asian Championship Bronzes
The outcome stings all the more for Jung. The competition was her first Asian Games and a chance to prove herself on the senior international stage.
Jung emerged as a prospect after winning bronze in the women's 48-kilogram division at the Asian Junior Championships in both 2024 and 2025. In November last year, she claimed her first senior international title at the Hong Kong Asian Open, showing her potential.
At her first Asian Games, however, she never got the chance to contest a single bout. She had cleared the official weigh-in the day before and was set for the round of 16, but exceeding the limit in the match-day random weigh-in ended her individual campaign on the spot.
Going 100 grams over the 50.4-kilogram limit was all it took to keep Jung out of her first Asian Games match.
