Park Jung-min
A total of eleven judokas competed in the event. A twelfth competitor, Khalil Guerfa of Algeria, was disqualified for failing a pre-match medical exam. He was to have had a bye in the first round followed by a bout against the winner of the Rafael Moreno-Park Jung-min match. Because of Guerfa's disqualification, the winner of the Moreno-Park match instead received a bye into the third round.