(Asiad) Huh Mimi fulfills late grandmother's wish with Asian Games judo gold
NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- In 2021, Huh Mimi made a life-changing decision after her late grandmother's dying wish that her granddaughter compete for her motherland, South Korea.
Born in Japan in 2002 to a Korean father and a Japanese mother, she switched allegiance to South Korea, ending her judo career in Japan.
Since then, she has stood out on the national and international stages with the Korean national flag on her chest, emerging as a new star in South Korean sports.
South Korea's Huh Mimi celebrates her victory in the final of the women's -57-kilogram judo at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, on Oct. 1, 2026. (Yonhap)
Huh won the 2024 world judo championships in the women's -57-kilogram category, becoming South Korea's first female world champion in 29 years.
She won the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics before claiming gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
"I want to thank my grandmother. Without her last words, I wouldn't have competed for South Korea," she said after beating Terbish Ariunzaya of Mongolia in the women's -57kg final at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, on Thursday.
"I'm so happy now, and I want to say thank you to her."
She learned the lyrics to the Korean national anthem so she could sing along during the medal ceremony, something she tried to do at the 2024 Olympics but could not after finishing with the silver medal.
"I studied the anthem word by word," she said. "I memorized it well, and I'll sing along to the anthem during the ceremony."
South Korea's Huh Mimi celebrates her victory in the final of the women's -57-kilogram judo at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, on Oct. 1, 2026. (Yonhap)
However, competing in the country where she was born and raised for about 20 years was not her biggest concern. Rather, it was a shoulder injury that she had struggled with for nearly two years.
"It was the hardest time in my life. I wondered whether I could recover," she said. "I couldn't sleep well last night because I was concerned about my condition and other things. But many people around me told me to relax and comforted me, saying it was OK even if I failed to win gold. Those words helped me a lot."
Huh said she will stay focused on the upcoming mixed team event scheduled for Friday as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"My ultimate goal is an Olympic gold medal," she said. "But my Asian Games competition still continues. I'll work harder to win the gold medal in the team event."
South Korea's Huh Mimi (in blue) competes during the final of the women's -57-kilogram judo at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, on Oct. 1, 2026. (Yonhap)
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