Lee Hyun-ji (Namnyeong High School), the most promising female student, won a silver medal at the Judo Grand Slam event in Paris, France on the 3rd. The Paris Grand Slam is the first major competition in the new year of 2025 and the second most prestigious competition after the Olympics and the World Championships.
Lee advanced to the semifinals by beating Japan's Arai Mao, the winner of last year's Tokyo Grand Slam, on his back. The final match, however, was a bit disappointing. While playing a fierce match with France's Leah Fontaine, she withdrew due to physical conditions. "Lee couldn't continue the match due to pelvic pain," a source at the Korea Judo Association said. There was something more regrettable. The women's team did not have a trainer accompanying them. Trainers are key players who have a big impact on their condition, including taping and massage. "The role of trainers and their impact on athletes in modern sports is huge. They can also play a role to help change the color of medals," said a former member of the Korean Judo team.
The reason why the trainer failed to make the list of participants at the Grand Slam is that coach Jeong Seong-sook is not qualified as a leader of the International Judo Federation. A coach or coach who does not have an IJF leadership certificate cannot sit at the coach box in an international competition. Usually, at least two coaches are required to facilitate a Grand Slam event. The Korea Judo Association dispatched three coaches, coaches, and staff to the men's and women's national teams for this year's event. Consequently, the women's team had to add an additional power analyst to the list of licensed coaches in place of coach Jeong. As a licensed coach and a power analyst joined the team, the team was unable to join the team. Power analyst, as a former national judo player, is capable of providing technical assistance but is not capable of massage or condition management. In the process, nobody including the judo association or the performance improvement committee took issue with the trainer's absence.
Consequently, Korean female athletes taped themselves throughout the tournament, and did not receive any physical conditions such as muscle massages or injury treatments. Besides Lee Hyun-ji, there have been several reported injuries in the judo team. "The athletes who have to participate in the tournament in their best condition seem to have been shaken both physically and mentally due to the absence of trainers," a judo official said. "The most important event in judo is the condition on the day of the event. It is regrettable that the athletes did not even get the opportunity to participate in the event after receiving the best physical condition and support. It is even more regrettable that the women's team is performing better than ever due to the presence of star athletes such as Hur Mi-mi." For the men's national team, coach Hwang Hee-tae, a coach and a trainer participated in the event. Hwang had no reason to take two additional coaches as he held an IJF license.
The IJF introduced a leadership license starting in 2023, giving world leaders two years to acquire the license. Leaders do not need a license until the Paris Olympics. However, leaders who fail to acquire a leadership license from this year are not allowed to sit in the coach's seat at international competitions. Chung took the helm of the women's team late last year. The Korea Judo Association said, "In the beginning, we informed that we don't need an IJF license in the announcement on hiring a leader. Chung signed a two-year coaching contract on condition that he get a leadership license within one year after taking the helm. There is no problem in the selection process," he said. Judo players point out that even though Chung had no problem with the hiring process, it is inefficient for him to be able to participate in international competitions for nearly a year, which is his main job. Chung, who does not have a license, has not been able to teach in a single competition at the coach's seat. He registered as an executive of the Korean national team, not as a leader, and watched matches in the stands. Chung applied for a certification acquisition program (16 weeks of online training + practical skills) early this year. It is expected that it will take at least half a year to acquire a license. The first year of his two-year tenure means that most international competitions, including the 메이저놀이터 World Championships in June, will not be able to attend.