[National Sports Festival] Lee Jun-hwan, unable to carry himself due to a knee injury, “a revelation from God”

(Jeju = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Gyeong-yoon = Lee Jun-hwan (Pohang City Hall), the leader in the men's 81kg judo class, has a piggyback throw.

He moves his body like lightning to crush his opponent in any position.

This is the reason why the International Judo Federation (IJF) nicknamed Lee Jun-hwan ‘Lightning Man’.

However, Lee Jun-hwan was unable to properly use his specialty, the piggyback throw, at the recently held 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Championships.

This is because the ligaments in my left knee were ruptured last year, and my right knee was injured this year, making it difficult to bend both knees.

Lee Jun-hwan won a bronze medal at the Asian Games, where he competed in poor form, and advanced to the bronze medal match at the World Championships.

He attempted to win a medal at the World Championships for the fourth time in a row, but unfortunately failed due to his knee condition.

Lee Jun-hwan was unable to use the piggy back throw at the 107th National Sports Festival held at the Namnyeong High School Gymnasium in Jeju Island on the 17th.

Instead, he destroyed the opposing players one after another with various techniques.

Lee Jun-hwan defeated Ham Young-jin in the first round with a single kick to the thigh, and won a coaching victory over Jin Seon-young in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, he defeated Kim Ji-hoon in a round of pressing, and in the final, he won the championship by defeating Kim Hwi-geon in a round of pressing.

Not being able to use his specialty is a despairing situation for a judo player, but Lee Jun-hwan is instead accepting it as an opportunity for growth.

Lee Jun-hwan, who met with Yonhap News after the game, said, "The condition of my knee is still not good," and "So, I am trying as much as possible to use techniques that can be used in the current situation, such as grappling and thigh techniques."

“Rather, I think this process can be an opportunity to improve the perfection of other skills,” he said. “Once my knee condition improves, I will be able to further increase my competitiveness by combining the various skills I have recently honed with my existing specialty, piggybacking.”

Lee Jun-hwan is determined to use his knee injury as an opportunity for a new leap forward.

He said, "In a way, the reason I injured my knee now is like a revelation from God telling me not to get caught up in piggybacking and to try other techniques," and pledged, "As my ultimate goal is an Olympic gold medal, I will improve my knee condition while practicing various techniques."