Wang Ki-Chun (Korean: 왕기춘, Korean pronunciation: [waŋ.ɡi.tɕʰun]; born 13 September 1988 in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province) is a former judoka from South Korea.
He became known for beating the 2004 Olympic champion Lee Won-Hee in the qualification matches for the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Olympic Games.
Wang won the world title at the age of 19 at the 2007 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
He was the favorite for winning the gold medal in the 2008 Olympic Games, however, Wang suffered ribcage fracture when Brazil's Leandro Guilheiro hit him with an elbow in the quarterfinal. Despite fighting through injury, Wang was beaten in the final by Elnur Mammadli from Azerbaijan and had to settle for silver medal. He made up for it in the 2009 World Judo Championships by winning the 73 kg final against North Korean Kim Chol-Su.
After winning the 2010 Paris Grand Slam he did not compete until the 2010 World Championships Tokyo and lost to Hiroyuki Akimoto in the semi-finals and had to settle with the bronze.
He did not medal at the 2011 World Championships in Paris, crashing out early to Ugo Legrand of France. He faced him again in the 2012 Summer Olympics in the fight for bronze, losing again.[1]
In his prime, Wang was known for his physical fighting style, and his deadly tai otoshi and seoi nage.[2]
Disciplinary issues
editIn 2009, Wang assaulted a female club patron, slapping her face after an altercation. No charges were pressed after he reached a settlement with the victim.[3]
Wang was in controversy again in 2014, when he was detained for eight days by the Republic of Korea Army's military police for using his mobile phone while serving his national service. He was caught using his phone again a week later, and was sent to the military correctional facility.[4]
On May 2, 2020, Wang was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor.[5] The Daegu District Court sentenced him to 6 years in prison.[6] The Korea Judo Association subsequently banned Wang for life from judo following the charges for greatly damaging the integrity and social standing of judo.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Wang Gi-Chun Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ^ "Kim vs Wang at the Korean nationals".
- ^ "Bowed, humbled, but... Wang Kichun is back". 29 October 2009.
- ^ "Korean military won't let judoka off the hook". Reuters.
- ^ "올림픽 유도 은메달리스트 왕기춘 미성년자 성폭행혐의 구속(종합)". Naver News (in Korean). Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ "Olympic judo silver medalist Wang Ki-chun jailed for sexually assaulting minors". The Korea Times. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Wang Ki-Chun banned for life from judo". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
External links
edit- Wang Ki-chun at the International Judo Federation
- Wang Ki-chun at JudoInside.com
- Wang Ki-chun at AllJudo.net (in French)
- Wang Ki-chun at Olympics.com
- Wang Ki-chun at Olympedia
- Wang Ki-chun at The-Sports.org
- Wang Ki-chun on Facebook
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