Day: September 24, 2023

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(2nd LD) (Asiad) Hwang Sun-woo wins bronze in men’s 100m freestyle swimming

South Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo claimed bronze in the men’s 100-meter freestyle event at the Asian Games in China on Sunday, grabbing his first career medal in his debut at the continental event.

Hwang finished third in 48.04 seconds at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou.

Hwang’s chief Chinese rival, Pan Zhanle, won the gold with an Asian record time of 46.97 seconds. Another Chinese, Wang Haoyu, got the silver in 48.02.

Hwang’s main event is 200m freestyle, where the 20-year-old won silver at the 2022 world championships and then bronze at this year’s worlds.

In the 100m, Hwang set an Asian record at 47.56 seconds during the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. Pan, one year Hwang’s junior, first topped that mark in May this year by clocking 47.22 seconds. Pan then outdid himself Sunday night in front of a home crowd, becoming the first Asian swimmer to break the 47-second barrier.

Swimming in Lane 5, Hwang had the reaction time of 0.62 second, third-slowest among the eight finalists. Hwang was one-hundredth of a second faster than Pan at the start, but the Chinese went on a furious charge and reached the 50m mark first in 22.45 seconds.

Wang trailed him at 22.91 seconds, while Hwang was a distant third at 23.23 seconds.

Pan covered the final 50m in 24.52 seconds to win his first Asian Games gold. Hwang had a final 50m split of 24.81 seconds, 0.3 second faster than Wang, but it wasn’t enough to push the South Korean to second place.

Hwang is only the second South Korea to reach the Asiad podium in the men’s 100m freestyle, joining Park Tae-hwan, who won silver in 2006 and then gold in 2010.

The one other South Korean in Sunday’s final, Lee Ho-joon, finished fourth in 48.68 seconds.

It was a new personal best time for Lee, whose previous career best was 48.76.

“I am really satisfied with this finish. I was able to set a new personal best even though this isn’t my main race,” said Lee, who typically excels in the 200m freestyle. “I’ve been preparing for this competition for the past three to four years. My time has been improving gradually. This was a positive experience.”

South Korea won another bronze medal in swimming Sunday, with Lee Ju-ho finishing third in the men’s 100m backstroke in 53.54 seconds. It was the second straight Asian Games bronze in this race for the 28-year-old.

Xu Jiayu of China won the gold with an Asian Games record of 52.23 seconds, followed by Ryosuke Irie of Japan at 53.46 seconds.

“I pushed so hard at the end to get the silver,” Lee said. “But I am happy to win the bronze after competing against such great athletes.”

Lee is the first South Korean swimmer in 29 years to win back-to-back medals in an Asian Games backstroke event.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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(Asiad) S. Korea beat Bahrain in men’s football to cap perfect run through group phase

South Korea defeated Bahrain 3-0 in men’s football of the 19th Asian Games in China on Sunday, closing out the group stage with an unblemished record.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in played about 36 minutes before getting subbed out in his Asiad debut in Group E action at Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium in Jinhua, southwest of the main host city, Hangzhou. He didn’t factor into a goal, with Lee Han-beom, Paik Seung-ho and Goh Young-jun each contributing a goal.

South Korea had already clinched the top spot in Group E by beating Kuwait and Thailand by a combined 13-0. With nothing at stake Sunday, head coach Hwang Sun-hong gave Lee his first competition run with the rest of the team.

Compared with the lineup against Thailand on Thursday, Hwang inserted 10 new players into the starting lineup.

Lee tried to set up his forwards for scoring chances through a crowded Bahrain defense, feeding passes from all over the pitch. On 25 minutes, Lee’s through ball set up Jeong Woo-yeong’s cross that found Cho Young-wook’s head, with goalkeeper Salman Adel Salman Yusuf Alisa denying the Korean forward.

After a goalless opening half, Lee Han-beom headed home a Jung Ho-yeon cross to break the ice on the 61st minute.

Paik, South Korea’s captain, made it 2-0 with a mid-range strike. Goh, who came on for Lee a little past the half-hour mark, rounded out the scoring in the 84th minute.

Lee Kang-in arrived in Hangzhou on Thursday due to his club commitments and missed South Korea’s first two contests.

Because the Asian Games don’t fall within the FIFA international match calendar, clubs aren’t obligated to release their players. PSG only sent Lee to China after he played in a UEFA Champions League group stage match in Paris on Tuesday.

In the round of 16, South Korea will face Kyrgyzstan, the runners-up in Group F.

North Korea won Group F by defeating Indonesia 1-0 earlier Sunday, and this meant the all-Korean clash won’t materialize until the gold medal contest.

South Korea are trying to win an unprecedented third straight gold medal.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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(Asiad) medal standings

– Below are the medal standings for the top 10 countries and South Korea at the Hangzhou Asian Games as of Sunday.

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 China 20 7 3 30

2 South Korea 5 4 5 14

3 Japan 2 7 5 14

4 Hong Kong 2 0 5 7

5 Uzbekistan 1 3 3 7

6 Chinese Taipei 1 1 2 4

7 India 0 3 2 5

8 Indonesia 0 1 3 4

9 Mongolia 0 1 2 3

10 Iran 0 1 1 2

10 Kazakhstan 0 1 1 2

10 UAE 0 1 1 2

(END)

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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(Asiad) S. Korea captures 5 golds to open medal race

South Korea wasted little time collecting its first gold medal of the 19th Asian Games in China on Sunday, the first day of medal events, as Kang Wan-jin came through with the men’s individual poomsae title in taekwondo.

Chae Yea-eun followed up minutes later with gold in the women’s individual poomsae event at Lin’an Sports Culture & Exhibition Centre in Hangzhou, as South Korea swept the two titles up for grabs in taekwondo’s demonstration discipline.

These were among five gold medals that South Korea collected Sunday across Hangzhou.

South Korea also captured two gold medals in modern pentathlon. Jun Woong-tae was crowned the men’s individual champion with 1,508 points from swimming, fencing, horse riding and laser run (shooting and running), and also helped South Korea to the men’s team gold medal, along with the individual silver medalist Lee Ji-hun and fourth-place finisher Jung Jin-hwa.

An all-South Korean final materialized in the women’s individual epee fencing, where Choi In-jeong defeated her teammate, Song Se-ra, 9-8.

Choi finally earned her first Asian Games gold in her third try, having taken individual bronze and team silver at both 2014 and 2018 competitions.

South Korea emerged with two medals from the swimming pool, with Hwang Sun-woo winning bronze in the men’s 100-meter freestyle and Lee Ju-ho matching the feat in the men’s 100m backstroke.

This is the first Asian Games for Hwang, the 20-year-old budding star with two world championship medals in the 200m freestyle.

Earlier in the day, Kim Sun-woo won silver in the women’s individual pentathlon event for South Korea’s very first medal in Hangzhou. Kim combined with teammates Kim Se-hee, Seong Seung-min and Jang Ha-eun for the team bronze medal.

South Korea collected three medals in judo: a silver by Lee Ha-rim in the men’s -60kg, and a bronze each by An Baul in the men’s -66kg and Jung Ye-rin in the women’s -52kg.

All told, South Korea finished the day with five gold, four silver and five bronze medals, good for second place behind China, which gobbled up 20 gold medals.

Japan, which edged out South Korea for second place at the 2018 Asiad, won two gold medals Sunday.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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(Asiad) With her 1st gold, epee fencer Choi In-jeong makes golden swan song

Out of her collection of medals from the Olympics and Asian Games throughout her decadelong national team career, 33-year-old epee fencer Choi In-jeong had missed just one color.

She had never won a gold medal in individual and team events at multisports competitions since her maiden Olympic participation in 2012.

She had two silver Olympic medals in the team event from London in 2012 and Tokyo in 2021, while she bagged team silver and individual bronze medals at both 2014 and 2018 Asian Games.

At the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games in China, which kicked off Saturday, she won the elusive gold medal in the all-Korean duel against Song Se-ra in the women’s individual epee fencing, ending her title drought.

Before coming to Hangzhou, media spotlight had been on Song, the reigning world champion and world No. 5 making her Asian Games debut.

But Choi was not bothered with the fact that she was not the ace on the team.

“I’m so happy that Korean fencers took gold and silver in the individual event. On the one hand, I think we’re lucky,” Choi said in a post-match interview. “Before coming here, I didn’t have my own goal. I’m satisfied with the fact that I’ve done what I have to do.”

At the same time, her first-ever gold medal in Asian Games came with her crucial decision to end her national team career.

“This is my last Asian Games,” she said. “I want to compete with the national team only until this year and then retire from it.”

Despite the Asiad gold before her retirement, she still felt sad about missing the Olympics, where she has never reached a podium in the individual event. She finished 17th in Tokyo, her last Olympics.

“When thinking of the Olympics, I might keep feeling regret,” she said. “But at the Paris Olympics next year, young athletes will do better.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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Realizing Golden Indonesia 2045 by integrating Primary Health Service

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin once said that Indonesia needs healthy citizens to become a developed country when it enters the demographic bonus phase.”We can start by maintaining our health to avoid getting sick, so we can live a healthy life,”he conveyed during the launching of a Primary Health Service Integration in August 2023. ccording to him, the mindset of being healthy must be instilled in all citizens. He also mentioned that being healthy does not mean healing from a disease but maintaining a healthy condition to avoid sickness healthy lifestyle must be carried out by all Indonesians since the country is currently ranked second in Tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world and fifth in diabetes as well as stunting cases in the world Not to mention, there are 70 million Indonesians who are exposed to cigarette smoke, with 68.9 million of them being active smokers. Data from Basic Health Research in 2013 showed that the smoking habit did not only occur in adults. The research recorded there were 7.2 percent of smokers aged 10 to 18 years old. This figure increased to 9.1 percent in 2018. part from that, no less than Rp113.47 trillion in funding has been disbursed by the National Health Insurer (BPJS Health) for the participants of the National Health Insurance (JKN) program throughout 2022. These data and phenomenon are not ideal for achieving the Golden Indonesia 2045 goal which requires high-quality human resources amid the demographic bonus which is predicted to reach its peak in 2030-2040. Therefore, the Health Ministry is taking concrete action by launching the Integration of Primary Health Services on August 31 as one of the efforts to welcome Golden Indonesia 2045 and also to carry out health transformation in the country. The Integration of Primary Health Services focuses on three points namely the application of the life cycle as the focus of health service integration. Second, bringing health services closer through networks to the village and hamlet level, including strengthening promotion and prevention, namely through disease detection and screening. Third, strengthening regional monitoring through digitalization and monitoring the rural health situation with a health dashboard. The implementation of life cycle monitoring aims to provide fair and equal health services for each life period, not only aimed at one particular group of age. For example, the government started to provide health screening during pregnancy for the mother and the baby. During pregnancy, expecting mothers also receive a number of health screening services such as triple elimination screening for hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis to ensure smooth delivery. When the baby is born, the screening or checking is continued with congenital hypothyroid screening, to separate babies who suffer from congenital hypothyroidism and immediately give treatment to avoid serious impact on their growth and development Some of these screening packages are part of the packages provided for various age groups starting from babies and toddlers, children and teenagers, to productive age groups and the elderly. To obtain these health services, the public can visit the nearest health facility such as integrated health posts (posyandu) which was previously known as a place to provide health services for babies and toddlers, can now also be visited by adults and even the elderly to get health services. This is included in the government’s efforts to strengthen community health centers, especially to accommodate the community who live in remote areas from having to go to health facilities or hospitals to get basic health services. The Integration of Primary Health Services is realized by strengthening around 10,000 community health centers (puskesmas) in the sub-district area, around 85,000 supporting puskesmas at the hamlet level, and around 300,000 posyandu in the village area with services that meet standards. The Integration of Primary Health Services also shows Indonesia’s seriousness in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) launched by the United Nations (UN), especially in the third point which ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being for all at all ages. Integration of Primary Health Services is also an important part of the various efforts being made to realize a Golden Indonesia 2045. Minister Sadikin conveyed that health must be developed from an early age to realize productive human resources in order to bring Indonesia out of the threat of the middle-income trap. Productive human resources in this era is one of the country’s capitals to boost Gross Domestic Income (GDP) that helps to penetrate Indonesia entering the high-income country group, the minister said. Therefore, solid cooperation between the community as citizens and the government as policymakers is needed to realize quality human resources in welcoming Golden Indonesia 2045.

Source: Antara News Agency

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Indonesia invites UN members to revive trust and solidarity

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudihas called on all countries in the world to revive global trust and solidarity at the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the US, on Saturday.”The world now is at a strategic crossroad. Global solidarity and collective responsibility are the only answer to address trust deficit and global inequality,” she said as quoted in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The call was taken from the core message of the Asian-African Conference held in Bandung, West Java, in 1955, according to the statement. Through the 10 Bandung Principles, Indonesia called for all countries to respect human rights, the UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity, equality, and resolving conflicts peacefully, as well as encouraging the promotion of cooperation and mutual interests. “The Bandung spirit enables Indonesia to listen and become part of the solution,” Marsudi said. She explained that for Indonesia, global leadership should not only be about power or the influence to dictate others. lobal leadership is about listening to others, building bridges for various interests, respecting international laws consistently, and respecting all nations equally. Regarding the uncertain global situation with declining trust and sharpening rivalries, Marsudi explained that it had prevented developing countries from meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets. To this end, she outlined three strategies to rebuild global trust and reignite global solidarity. First, Indonesia urges collective global leadership. “The fate of the world cannot be defined by the mighty few,” she said. She emphasized that a peaceful, stable, and prosperous world is the collective right and responsibility of all countries, whether big or small, north or south, developed or developing countries. She also urged all parties to uphold international laws, especially the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and ensure that disputes would be settled on the negotiating table rather than at the battlefield. Particularly, collective responsibility is deemed essential for saving the people of Palestine and Afghanistan. “For far too long we have allowed our Palestinian brothers and sisters to suffer. Indonesia will not back an inch in our support for Palestinian statehood,” she remarked. Second, Indonesia encourages development for all. The minister noted that all countries have the same right to develop and grow. However, she said that global architecture currently only benefits several countries. She pointed out that discriminatory trade policies still continue, global supply chains are still monopolized, and developing countries are still burdened by foreign debt. All of this contributes to the erosion of trust and solidarity. “Therefore, it is time for us to make a real change. Industrial down-streaming must not be an exclusive call of developing countries. Developed countries should also support this call to build a stronger future together,” she said. Regarding climate change issues, the minister also called on developed countries to fulfill their responsibilities, including in climate change financing, green investment, and technology transfer. Meanwhile, regarding technological issues, she hoped that the latest digital technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) could also be accessed by developing countries because it is crucial for their sustainable growth. Third, Indonesia encourages efforts to bolster regional cooperation. “Regional institutions should be net contributors and building blocks for global peace and prosperity,” she highlighted. ccording to Marsudi, ASEAN is an example of regional cooperation that is effective and contributes to peace and global prosperity. As ASEAN’s chair this year, Indonesia has succeeded in navigating ASEAN through difficult geopolitical dynamics in the region. “We will not let our region be a pawn of rivalries. Instead, Southeast Asia must be an Epicentrum of Growth, where all countries can benefit meaningfully,” she said. She further said that during Indonesia’s chairmanship, ASEAN remained united and its centrality has gotten stronger. SEAN has also started the discussion on the long-term vision for ASEAN 2045 and established a closer partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific. In addition, ASEAN has also implemented the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific into concrete and inclusive cooperation. Regarding the Myanmar issue, she emphasized that ASEAN will continue to urge the military junta to implement the Five Point Consensus. “ASEAN will spare no effort to ensure the people of Myanmar are not left alone,” she said. t the end of her speech, she highlighted the need to reform the current multilateral system and invited countries to translate their commitment into concrete actions.

Source: Antara News Agency

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Indonesia invites Costa Rica to accede to ASEAN TAC

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi on Friday (September 22, 2023) invited Costa Rica to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).Minister Marsudi extended the invite to Costa Rican FM Arnoldo Andre Tinoco during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States. ccording to a written statement received from the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry here on Saturday, she delivered the invitation in response to the Central American country’s strong interest in enhancing engagement with ASEAN. The minister said she believes that Costa Rica’s accession to TAC would pave the way for close relations between the country and the bloc, which is currently chaired by Indonesia. Established in 1976, the TAC is a pact that promotes the adoption of the principle of non-aggression by the member countries of ASEAN as well as partner countries of the Southeast Asian bloc. On the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) hosted by Indonesia in Jakarta on September 4, Serbia, Panama, and Kuwait became the 52nd, 53rd, and 54th countries to adopt the treaty. Marsudi and Tinoco also discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation during their meeting. Pertaining to bilateral cooperation, they highlighted possible measures for bolstering cooperation in the fields of creative economy, disaster management, and renewable energy. They also pushed for the ratification of the framework cooperation agreement previously agreed upon by them. Meanwhile, regarding multilateral cooperation, the two ministers talked about Indonesia’s proposal to become a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Human Rights Council. Minister Tinoco, on his part, extended the support of his country, which will co-host the OECD annual conference in 2025, for Indonesia’s OECD membership application.

Source: Antara News Agency

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