As the judo competition at the Incheon Asian Games ended, South Korean judokas left with different expressions on their faces.

Among the four golds the squad acquired in the individual events at the Asiad, three were claimed by female fighters, while only one male judoka, Kim Jae-bum, won a gold.

Jeong Gyeong-mi, the eldest on the women’s team, topped the women’s under-78-kilogram class to become the first South Korean woman fighter to defend her Asiad title. Kim Seong-yeon and Joung Da-woon also stood on the top of the podium, with four other judokas earning one silver and three bronzes.

From the men’s squad, however, reigning Olympic champ Kim Jae-bum was the only gold medalist among seven competitors who competed at Incheon. The rest of the team contributed five bronzes.

The men have usually won more titles than their female teammates at Asiads, and the table was turned this time.

At the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the male team dug out four golds from eight events, while the women won two golds.

Seo Joung-bok, who coaches the female athletes, could barely contain his happiness, calling his fighters’ feat “a big triumph.”

He said his long tenure with the team helped bear fruit at the Asiad.

He has led the women’s team since the 2010 Asiad, after the country was shut out of titles at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

“The women’s team had been struggling for decades. But they have been on a roll for a few years as they dedicated themselves to hard training,” said Seo. (Yonhap)