An Chang-rim (; born 2 March 1994) is a South Korean retired

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. An is currently the world champion in the lightweight division. He began his rise as one of judo's top lightweights by becoming junior World Champion. It was followed by a two-year podium streak, including wins at the prestigious Grand Slam

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. He is known for his physical, aggressive style of fighting, and is a versatile stylist of

seoi nage is a shoulder throw, one of the traditional forty throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the first group, Dai Ikkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza), of Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Thro ...

. An won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships. South Korea's premier lightweight, he represented Korea at the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

. He was also seeded first at the Olympics. He is currently ranked fourth in the world. In December 2021 he officially announced retirement.

Early life

An was born to third generation

Zainichi Korean comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

parents. He wanted to compete for South Korea from a young age, saying "I was never discriminated against here n South Korea" An began judo in first grade. He attended Kyoto City Hachijo Junior High School, where he began to compete. He was unable to compete internationally for Japan because he refused naturalization. Before moving to Korea, An was a student at the

University of Tsukuba is a public university, public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Pro ...

, where he trained and was teammates with 2015 World Champion

Takanori Nagase Takanori Nagase ( ja, 永瀬貴規; born 14 October 1993) is a Japanese judoka. Nagase's achievements include the Universiade in Kazan in 2013, the Grand Slam in Tokyo in 2013 and 2014, the All Japan Championships, the IJF Masters in Rabat and ...

. He was the 2013 All Japan University lightweight champion. He currently attends and trains at

Yong In University Yong In University is a private university located in Samga-dong, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Founded as a judo school, it expanded to the present-day comprehensive private university offering both undergraduate and graduate ...

Career

2014 World Judo Championships

An began his competitive senior career in 2014, representing Korea at the 2014 World Judo Championships. He competed in the −73 kg category, after local lightweight number one

Wang Ki-chun Wang Ki-Chun (Hangul: 왕기춘, ; born September 13, 1988 in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do) is a former judoka from South Korea. He became known for beating the 2004 Olympic champion Lee Won-Hee in the qualification matches for the 2007 World Champ ...

missed the tournament. He lost in the second round to Israeli champion

Sagi Muki Sagi Aharon Muki (or Moki; he, שגיא אהרון מוקי; born 17 May 1992) is an Israeli half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Champion. He also won the 2015 and 2018 European championships. In August 2011 Muki won the European ...

2014 World Junior Judo Championships

An had a breakthrough in his junior career, winning the 2014 World Junior Championships in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. He won against Japan's Yuji Yamamoto in the final, scoring two

waza-ari is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon'' or ''waza-ari'' contest, usually judo, karate or jujutsu. ''Waza-ari'' in judo A ''waza-ari'' is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in judo, the ...

s for

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the four ...

2014 Grand Prix Jeju

An won his first IJF circuit title at the 2014 Grand Prix in Jeju, beating established opponents such as 2008 European Champion

Dirk Van Tichelt Dirk Van Tichelt (born 10 June 1984) is a Belgian judoka. His biggest achievement was his European title in Lisbon. In the same year, at the Beijing Olympics he came fifth after losing in the first round to gold-medallist Elnur Mammadli and l ...

in the semi-finals, and future European Champion Sagi Muki in the finals, both by ippon.

2014 Grand Slam Tokyo

An competed in his first Grand Slam in 2014, at the heart of judo in

. He lost to double world champion

Shohei Ono is a Japanese retired judoka. Ono is regarded as one of judo's top fighters, having won three World Championships and two Olympic gold medals. He is the lightweight division's most dominant fighter, having won in every major championship he ...

in the quarter-finals, and Ono would prove to be a stumbling block later on in his career. He won his first Grand Slam medal against Rustam Orujov in the bronze medal contest, winning narrowly by yuko.

2015 Grand Prix Dusseldorf

An again had a fairly successful outing at the Grand Prix in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, where he was guaranteed a medal by beating Muki by ippon in the quarter-finals. However, he was again faced against his budding rival Ono, and lost in the semi-finals. He won a bronze medal by defeating Victor Scvortov.

2015 European Open Warsaw

An continued his medal-winning streak at the European Open in Warsaw, reaching the final after winning all his fights en-route by ippon. He faced his first opponent from Asia in the tournament with Mongolia's Odbayar Ganbataar, where Ganbataar threw him for ippon, therefore beating An to settle for silver.

2015 Asian Judo Championships

An won his first continental title at the Asian Judo Championships in

Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

. He defeated Sharofiddin Boltaboev in just 49 seconds by ippon.

2015 Universiade

An defeated all his opponents by ippon at home ground in

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

. He defeated Yamamoto again in the semi-final, and took gold against Ukraine's Dmytro Kanivets.

2015 World Judo Championships

An competed in his second world championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, and reached the semi-final. He was once again pitted against the eventual tournament winner Ono, and lost for the third time. Ono scored first with an uchi mata counter for waza-ari, and An leveled the scores by scoring waza-ari with a minute and a half to go. Ono sealed his win with an ushiro goshi, ending An's hopes of becoming Korea's third lightweight world champion, after Lee Won-hee and Wang. He then went on to win by shido against Ganbataar in the bronze-medal contest, becoming one of South Korea's five individual medalists at the championships. In the team competition, Korea faced Mongolia in the semi-finals. An faced Ganbataar and beat him for a second time in Astana with a

to win by ippon in just ten seconds. Korea won 4–1, and was set against Japan in the finals. An's opponent in the team final was double world champion and the 2015 silver medalist

Riki Nakaya is a Japanese judoka. He is a two-time lightweight world champion and an Olympic silver medalist. He was also a finalist at the 2015 World Championships. Personal life Nakaya began judo in kindergarten, following his older brother. Nakaya ma ...

. Japan was one up after former world champion Masashi Ebinuma beat current world champion

An Baul An Ba-ul (a.k.a. An Baul; Hangul: 안바울, ; born 25 March 1994) is a South Korean judoka. An is the former half-lightweight World Champion. He rose to prominence by becoming South Korea's first half-lightweight champion in more than a deca ...

, putting pressure on An. An beat Nakaya by ippon with his signature skill seoi nage. Korea eventually lost to Japan 3–2, and had to settle for silver.

2015 Grand Slam Abu Dhabi

An won his first Grand Slam at Abu Dhabi, winning all his fights by ippon with the exception of the quarter-final against half-lightweight

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Winter Olympic sports A. Including military patrol e ...

Lasha Shavdatuashvili Lasha Shavdatuashvili ( ka, ლაშა შავდათუაშვილი; born 31 January 1992) is a Georgian judoka. Shavdatuashvili is one of the most successful judoka of the early 21st century, having won Olympic medals at the 2012, ...

. He beat Germany's Igor Wandtke for the gold medal.

2015 Grand Prix Jeju

An had a re-match with van Tichelt again in the final for the second year running at the Grand Slam in Jeju. He defeated the Belgian once again by ippon.

2015 Grand Slam Tokyo

An faced his senior from the

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Hiroyuki Akimoto is a Japanese judoka . After moving up from the –66 kg division to the –73 kg division, he won the gold medal in the lightweight (73 kg) division at the 2010 World Judo Championships. He married volleyball player Ai Ōtomo ...

, in the final. After the match he said to

The Japan News The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; th ...

, "Two years ago at this event I was Hiroyuki-san's attendant. I intended to send him into retirement." He lost to Akimoto by waza-ari, settling for silver.

2016 Grand Slam Paris

At his first outing to one of the IJF circuit's most prestigious events, An managed to win his second Grand Slam title. He had a re-match with Akimoto in the semi-final, and this time emerged victorious, winning by ippon and waza-ari. He defeated Russia's Denis Iartcev in the final. After winning the gold medal, An spoke to ''L'esprit du Judo'', a French judo magazine. He answered their questions in Japanese, and was quoted saying, "I will win the Olympic final against Ono."

2016 Grand Prix Dusseldorf

An again faced his rival Ono in the semi-final at the Grand Prix in Düsseldorf, and lost for the fourth time. He ended up winning bronze against Mongolia's Khadbataar Narankhuu.

2018 Baku World Championship

An, for the first time, won the World Championship title. In the final he ended up going against his rival, Soichi Hashimoto from Japan. An beat Hashimoto with a Kosoto-gake which lead him to his first World Championship title.

2021

In 2021, he won the gold medal in his event at the

2021 Judo World Masters The 2021 Judo World Masters was held in Doha, Qatar, from 11 to 13 January 2021. Medal summary Medal table Source Men's events Source Women's events Source Prize money The sums written are per medalist, and with the two additional best ...

held in Doha, Qatar.

Competitive record

''(as of 30 November 2019)''

References

External links

* * * * * http://www.oasport.it/2015/12/judo-73-kg-orujov-in-testa-sfida-perenne-tra-ono-e-nakaya-bagarre-azzurra/ {{DEFAULTSORT:An, Chang-rim Living people 1994 births South Korean male judoka Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka for South Korea Universiade medalists in judo Zainichi Korean people Sportspeople from Kyoto World judo champions Judoka at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Asian Games medalists in judo Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games FISU World University Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in judo Olympic bronze medalists for South Korea 21st-century South Korean people