Day: October 9, 2023

Over the first five days of the medal race at the 19th Asian Games in China, South Korea picked up 24 gold medals, winning five golds each on four of those five days.

The country was not able to sustain that momentum, however, as it collected 18 more gold medals over the final 10 days of the competition in and around the main host city of Hangzhou. A third of those 18 came on Saturday, the penultimate day of the Asiad, as South Korea finished with 42 golds, 59 silvers and 89 bronzes.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) had set out to bring home 45 to 50 gold medals and finish in third place behind the two Asian sporting giants, China and Japan. South Korea finished second in the medal tables at every Asiad from 1998 to 2014, and that streak was snapped in 2018, when Japan finished in second place with 75 gold medals, 26 more than South Korea.

The KSOC acknowledged it would be difficult to topple Japan this time and the more realistic goal would be to narrow the gap with the rival nation.

At least that part of the equation was a success, as Japan finished with 52 gold medals. South Korea did win more medals overall than Japan, 190 to 188.

South Korea’s early gold medals mostly came from two sports: fencing and taekwondo.

The nation’s very first gold medal was won in taekwondo’s poomsae, and South Korea ended up winning five gold medals in its traditional martial art.

South Korea led all countries with six gold medals in fencing, which also produced a pair of double gold medalists: Choi In-jeong in the women’s individual and team epee, and Oh Sang-uk in the men’s individual and team sabre.

South Korea collected six gold medals and 22 medals overall in swimming, both of them its record totals in the sport at a single Asiad. Rising star Kim Woo-min accounted for half of those six gold medals, as the champion in the men’s 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay. Hwang Sun-woo joined Kim for the relay title and won the 200m freestyle gold medal for himself.

Fencing, taekwondo and swimming all wrapped up in the first week of the medal competition. Archery, as expected, did some heavy lifting for South Korea in the latter part of the Asian Games.

South Korea, the preeminent archery power, gobbled up four out of five gold medals up for grabs in archery — in the mixed team, men’s and women’s team, and women’s individual.

Finals for team sports were all scheduled over the final days of the Asian Games, and South Korea collected some notable gold medals in that stretch.

Football and baseball, two of the most popular sports in South Korea, both produced gold medals in Hangzhou. South Korea won its third consecutive gold in men’s football, and fourth consecutive title in baseball — both of them Asian Games records.

South Korea produced several multiple gold medalists, including freestyle swimmer Kim Woo-min and archer Lim Si-hyeon, who each won three gold medals. Badminton star An Se-young, world No. 1 in women’s singles, captured the women’s singles and the women’s team titles.

On the other side of the ledger, South Korea faltered early in men’s and women’s volleyball, not coming close to the podium.

The men’s volleyball team, in particular, was knocked out of medal contention even before the opening ceremony, after losing a qualifying match for the knockout stage. South Korea missed out on a medal in men’s volleyball for the first time in 61 years.

The women’s volleyball program has been on a downslope since the international retirement of the transcendent star Kim Yeon-koung, and the trend continued in Hangzhou as the team finished in fifth place. South Korea missed out on an Asiad medal in women’s volleyball for only the second time.

Elsewhere, South Korea was shut out of gold medals in wrestling for the first time in 13 years. For the second straight Asian Games, South Korea was held to one medal in boxing — after winning six in 2014.

At a wrap-up press conference for the South Korean delegation on Sunday, KSOC President Lee Kee-heung said he would seek to devise long-term plans for elite sports in South Korea to adopt more advanced training systems and learn from examples in other nations.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Every Asian Games has produced young risers and shooting stars who made their mark in the world’s sporting scene, and the 19th Hangzhou Asiad was no exception.

Many of South Korea’s fresh new stars proved their stalwart presence in their respective sports and are set to shake up the world order at the upcoming Paris Olympics next year.

Triple gold medalist archer Lim Si-hyeon was the biggest breakout star at the Hangzhou Asian Games, becoming the first archer who won more than two gold medals at a single Asiad since 1986.

At her maiden Asian Games, the 20-year old archer started her gold medal hunt in the mixed doubles event, teaming up with Lee Woo-seok, who also won another gold in the men’s team archery.

Then, she took her second gold in the women’s team event and the third in the individual event, where she defeated An San, reigning Olympic champion.

The final of the women’s recurve team event was the highlight of her outstanding composure and calmness, proving she is not just an athlete who happened to be making her Asiad debut but one who could have another successful competition ahead at Paris 2024.

Swimming phenom Kim Woo-min also stood out at the Hangzhou Asian Games, claiming a total of four medals in four freestyle events, including three golds in the men’s freestyle events.

He became only the third swimmer from the country to win three titles at a single Asiad, joining Choi Yun-hui and Park Tae-hwan.

In particular, he was a key member of South Korea’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay team, which made history by winning the country’s first-ever Asiad relay title.

His teammate Hwang Sun-woo, who already made a splash in the world championships earlier this year, also made his presence strongly felt in the pool at his Asian Games debut. He grabbed six medals, including two golds from the men’s 200m freestyle and 4x200m relay, reaching the podium in every race he entered.

Hwang’s six medals are the second most in a single meet in South Korean swimming history, behind Olympic gold medalist Park Tae-hwan

Hwang excelled with his time records. In 200m freestyle, he clocked in 1:44.40, breaking his own national record and also the 13-year-old Asian Games record.

In the 4x200m relay, Hwang anchored the South Korean team to the historic gold with a new Asian record of 7:01.73.

The two young swimmers will start their journey to the Paris Olympics with the upcoming world championships in February.

In badminton, reigning world champ and world No. 1 An Se-young finally shined at the top of the podium at a multisport competition, presenting her world-class performance in the women’s team and singles events to become a double gold medalist in Hangzhou.

Five years ago, then teenager An competed in two events at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and left the competition empty-handed.

After reaching the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, An rose to a top class player on the world stage, claiming the world championship title earlier this year.

She is the first South Korean female badminton player to win the women’s singles title at an Asiad since legendary Bang Soo-hyun did so in 1994.

The 21-year-old has now emerged as a strong gold medal favorite at the Paris Games next year.

Star fencer Oh Sang-uk also captured two titles in the men’s sabre competition, solidifying the country’s dominance on the piste.

He won the all-Korean duel with compatriot Gu Bon-gil and frustrated Gu’s hunt for his sixth and seventh career Asiad gold in Hangzhou.

Female veteran fencer Choi In-jeong also won two gold medals in the women’s individual and team epee fencing competition, celebrating her last Asian Games finale with multiple golds. She said she will retire from the national fencing team after Hangzhou.

Pentathlete Jun Woong-tae was South Korea’s first double gold medalist, making a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the men’s individual modern pentathlon and helping the country win the team event.

The trio of Kwak Yong-bin, Ha Kwang-chul and Jeong You-jin claimed two team golds in the men’s 10m running target and the men’s 10m running target mixed run events. Their gold medals are the country’s only golds won in shooting.

At the same time, some athletes competing in new-generation sports such as esports and breaking came into the spotlight.

South Korea won the inaugural title of the League of Legends (LOL) competition, with some professional gamers, like Lee Sang-hyeok, or Faker, becoming gold medalists.

In the Street Fighter V video game competition, 44-year old gamer Kim Gwan-woo also became the first Asiad champion.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

Marking its return to international multisport competition after a five-year absence, North Korea dominated in weightlifting at the 19th Asian Games in China.

Athletes and officials from the reclusive regime also generated headlines away from the field of play in and around Hangzhou.

North Korea had been absent from the past two major international sports competitions. It skipped the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021, citing COVID-19 concerns. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) subsequently banned North Korea from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, saying the country failed to fulfill its duties and obligations as an IOC member state.

The ban was lifted at the end of 2022. And because the 19th Asian Games were postponed by a year because of lingering COVID-19 issues, North Korea was eligible to participate in the continental event this fall.

North Korea finished in 10th place in the medal table with 11 golds, 18 silvers and 10 bronzes.

At the previous Asian Games in 2018, North Korea also ranked 10th, but with 12 golds, 12 silvers and 13 bronzes.

Considering that most North Korean athletes had not been competing internationally for the past couple of years leading up to Hangzhou, their performances across the board come as a surprise.

North Korea led all countries with six gold medals and 13 medals overall in weightlifting. Three weightlifters — Ri Song-gum in the women’s 49kg, Kang Hyon-gyong in the women’s 55kg and Kim Il-gyong in the women’s 59kg — set world records, too.

Pang Chol-mi, one of North Korea’s two flag bearers at the opening ceremony, grabbed her country’s only gold medal in boxing. North Korea’s first gold medal came from shooting, where the trio of Ri Ji-hye, Paek Ok-sim and Pang Myong-hyang won the women’s 10m running target team title.

Their gold was followed moments later by artistic gymnast An Chang-ok, who soared to the women’s vault title.

A few South Korea vs. North Korea showdowns materialized at this Asiad, including twice in women’s basketball.

The two Koreas had assembled a joint team in women’s basketball to win the silver medal behind China in 2018. A handful of members from the unified team — Park Ji-su, Park Ji-hyun and Kang Lee-seul for the South, and Ro Suk-yong and Kim Hye-yon for the North — competed against each other in Hangzhou. Jong Song-sim, the North Korean assistant coach for the unified team in 2018, returned as head coach of her native country this time.

The two teams first met during the preliminary round and then again in the bronze medal game. South Korea prevailed both times. After the first game, South Korean players said they felt hurt and disappointed that North Korean players didn’t acknowledge them.

Elsewhere, North Korea knocked off South Korea in the quarterfinals of women’s football with a 4-1 victory.

There were other instances in different sports where North Korean athletes refuse to shake hands with their South Korean opponents after events.

Athletes from the North also gave South Korean and other international media the cold shoulder, even after winning medals. They often skipped official press conferences arranged for medalists and walked through mixed zones without stopping to answer questions.

The lone exception was in weightlifting, where North Korean medalists attended press conferences and answered questions from South Korean media, though they at times needed interpretation help for the ones asked with particular South Korean phrases or expressions.

The most controversial moment for North Korea came in the men’s football tournament. After losing to Japan in the quarterfinals, North Korean players, aggrieved over a late penalty awarded to their opponents, confronted and attacked referee Rustam Lutfullin after the final whistle.

Source: Yonhap News Agency