The 'hajime' (start) signal has been sounded for South Korea's judo team as they seek Olympic gold after 12 years.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, judo will challenge for gold every day for eight days from Sept. 27 (local time) to Sept. 3 next month.

With one weight class per day for men and women, it will take a week to work its way from lightweight to heavyweight. On the final day, the mixed team competition is held.

Led by head coaches Hwang Hee-tae (men) and Kim Mi-jung (women), the Korean judo team has set its sights on a minimum of one gold medal and a maximum of two or three.

South Korean judo suffered a “no-gold” disgrace at the previous Olympics in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Leading the charge for gold will be Kim Min-jong (men's 100+ kg) and Heo Mi-mi (women's 57 kg), who both won world titles this year.

Heo will begin her medal hunt on Aug. 2 and Kim on Aug. 29.

Both received favorable results in the brackets released on July 25.

Kim Minjong, who won her first round by submission, should have no problem making it to the quarterfinals, where she will meet Tatsuru Saito (JPN) in the semifinals.

Saito, the “God of Japan's middleweight division,” is the son of Hitoshi Saito, who won back-to-back titles in Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988.

In the final, the 'French hero' will try to win a third individual Olympic gold medal Teddy Ligner will be waiting in the final.

The Frenchman has won a record 11 world titles and is considered the greatest heavyweight judoka of all time.

For Hermimi, the quarterfinals will be a tough test. Her opponent will be Ragbatogu Enghrilen (Mongolia), who has a 3-3 record against her.

If Tokyo Olympic champion Nora Jakova (Kosovo) can stop her in the first round, it will make things easier for Hermimi. Hermimi has won three out of three against Jakova.

The final will likely be a rematch with world No. 1 Krista DeGucci (CAN).

Heo's world title, the first for a South Korean woman in 29 years, came after an extended battle with Deguchi.

In the men's 81-kilogram category, Lee Jun-hwan (KOR) will need to defeat top-seeded Zelim Tchikaev (AZ) in the quarterfinals to remain in medal contention.

Also aiming for the top of the bracket are An Baul (men's 66kg), who won silver and bronze in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, respectively, and last year's Hangzhou Asian Games winner Kim Ha-yoon (women's 78kg+).

South Korean judo did not qualify for the men's 73kg, men's 100kg and women's 70kg divisions at the tournament. 토토사이트