'AG bronze medal' Jin-ho Moon wins the World Taekwondo Grand Prix 68kg class for the second time in a row

Jin-ho Moon (Korea National Sport University), a leader in the generational change in Korean Taekwondo, washed away the disappointment of only winning a bronze medal at the Asian Games (AG) with a second consecutive gold medal at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

Jin-ho Moon, a rising star born in 2007, won the gold medal by defeating Uzbekistan's Nazmidin Koszymhodziev with a round score of 2-0 (14-12, 10-0) in the men's 68kg final on the second day of the 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series held at the Palais des Sports Marcel Serdan in Levallois-Perret near Paris, France on the 10th (local time).

This is Korea's first gold medal in this competition.

In addition, Jin-ho Moon won the World Taekwondo Grand Prix for the second consecutive time following the Muju competition last month and maintained the top spot in the World Taekwondo (WT) Olympic rankings in this weight class.

With great expectations, he had to be satisfied with a bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where he participated for the first time in his career, earlier this month, but he continued his bigger dream of winning an Olympic gold medal by winning the World Taekwondo Grand Prix again.

Jin-ho Moon faced world powerhouse Kosim Hodziev, winner of the men's 74 kg class at the 2025 Wuxi World Taekwondo Championships, and overpowered his opponent with an attack utilizing his tall height of 192 cm and long legs.

With the score tied at 12-12, Jin-ho Moon accurately struck his opponent's torso just before the end, taking the first round with a score of 14-12.

In the second round, he checked the opponent's approach with his long legs and steadily accumulated points when an opportunity to attack arose, securing a scoreless victory and confirming the championship.

After winning, Jin-ho Moon said through the World Taekwondo Federation, "I prepared really hard for the Asian Games, but I was very disappointed and disappointed that I did not get the results I expected," and added, "I prepared and promised to do well again in Paris, and I am happy with the good results."

He continued, "I will train harder and make up for my shortcomings with the goal of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in November. I will definitely win the final and maintain my No. 1 spot in the Olympic rankings," and added, "I want to win the World Championships next year to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as No. 1 in the world, and even win a gold medal."

In the previous semifinal, Jin-ho Moon defeated Jang Jun (Korea Gas Corporation) in a close match with a round score of 2-1 (15-6, 3-4, 1-1 lead) and advanced to the final.

Jang Jun added a bronze medal.

On the other hand, Hong Hyo-rim (Yongin University), Kwak Min-ju, and Lee Ga-eun (Korea National Sport University), who competed in the women's 67kg class, all failed to win medals.

Until this day, Korea had won one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.