In a circumstance where a lesser athlete could have felt intimidated, South Korean judoka Kim Ha-yun, crowned an Asian Games champion Tuesday in China, thrived instead.
Kim went up against China’s own Xu Shiyan in the final of the women’s +78kg event in Hangzhou. Predictably, the crowd at Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium was heavily in favor of the Chinese athlete.
Kim, 23, wasn’t concerned about competing in such a hostile setting.
“I wanted to meet Xu Shiyan in the final,” Kim said after her victory. “When I heard Chinese fans’ chanting and screaming, I told myself they were rooting for me. And that gave me the fuel for the final.”
Kim got her waza-ari, or a half point, just 43 seconds into the match, and held her ground for the gold medal. Xu barely mounted any attack in response.
Kim had lost her two previous meetings against Xu before Tuesday, but Kim said she was confident she could get the better of Xu this time.
“I knew exactly how I’d lost the first two matches against her. I was in control early but she put on some moves late,” Kim said. “I was confident I could definitely win if I executed my plan.”
Kim was fighting through some pains in her left knee, which she’d injured during training last week.
“I’d barely trained after that, and I had the knee all taped,” Kim revealed. “I was a bit worried but once the matches began, the pain disappeared.”
Kim’s gold was South Korea’s first in judo in Hangzhou, with other contenders having fallen by the wayside earlier.
“I felt a bit of pressure, but I figured I could just stick to what I’ve been doing all along and things would be fine,” Kim said. “I wanted to compete hard and have no regrets at the end. And things turned out exactly that way.”
With her first Asiad gold medal in tow, Kim is shifting her focus to a bigger prize.
“The Asian Games are a big event, but my ultimate goal is to win an Olympic gold,” she said. “When I go home, I’ll be training even harder.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency