The 42nd Ulsan National Sports Festival for the Disabled came to a close after 6 days of intense competition.
On the last day of the tournament, on the 24th, World Ranking 2nd ranked player Kim Jeong-jun (Ulsan) advanced to the finals, and WH2 Su-yeong Yoo (Gyeonggi), who advanced to the finals, defeated Kim Kyung-hoon (Ulsan) with a set score of 2-0 to win the championship. The next host, Jeonnam, defeated Busan 5-2 in the 7-man soccer (cerebral palsy) final. In the final of the five-man soccer (B1, visually impaired), Ulsan defeated Seoul 3-1. In the mixed wheelchair rugby final, Chungbuk and Seoul faced off, and Chungbuk defeated Seoul 56-34.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award went to Yoon Kyung-chan (30, Gyeonggi), who won three gold medals in track and field. Yoon Kyung-chan was disabled in a car accident when he was in elementary school. After that, he went to the Department of Special Physical Education and is currently a special teacher working at Ansan Education Support Office in Gyeonggi-do. He became the first national this year and participated in the Paralympic Grand Prix in Paris last June, finishing 3rd in the T53 100m and 2nd in the 200m, raising expectations for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Yoon Kyung-chan said, “Thanks to the coach and colleagues, training well led to good results.
The Rookie of the Year award was awarded to Yunji Kim (Seoul). Kim Yun-ji became the first player in history to receive the Rookie of the Year award in the same year. Yunji Kim won three gold medals in Nordic skiing at the 19th National Paralympic Winter Games in February, and three swimmers in this summer Paralympic Games.
The closing ceremony held at 4 pm at the Ulsan Dongcheon Gymnasium was attended by key guests, athletes, executives and citizens, including Chairman Jin-wan Jeong of the Korea Disabled Sports Association, Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom of Ulsan Metropolitan City, and administrative governor Mun Geum-ju of Jeollanam-do. Chairman Jin-Wan Jeong said, “At the tournament held again in Ulsan in 16 years, I was able to be sure of the development and future of the National Paralympic Games. It was a competition,” he said proudly.
