Athletes from participating countries are holding national flags as the closing ceremony of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games was held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium in China on the 8th. In this competition, which was held a year late due to COVID-19, the Korean team won 42 gold medals and ranked third overall, following China (201 gold medals) and Japan (52 gold medals). The next Asian Games will be held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan in 2026, three years later. Hangzhou/Senior Reporter Yoon Woon-sik [email protected]
The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games come to an end. This competition, held from September 23 to October 8, was originally scheduled to be held in 2022, but was postponed by one year due to COVID-19. There were great concerns due to the precedent of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which was shaken by various political controversies, but the Games ended successfully.
Badminton Ahn Se-young is holding up her gold medal after returning to Korea through Incheon International Airport on the 8th. Ahn Se-young won two gold medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. yunhap news
■ Korea Reveals Gold Prospects in Paris The growth of young players was noticeable at this tournament. In particular, athletes who could not stand on the podium at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics won medals, raising expectations for the 2024 Paris Olympics to be held in July next year. The growth of basic stocks, where Korea has been weak so far, is also noticeable.
The Korean swimming team is taking a commemorative photo at the awards ceremony after winning the bronze medal in the 400m mixed relay at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. From left, Hwang Seon-woo, Kim Seo-young, Choi Dong-yeol, and Lee Eun-ji. Hangzhou/Senior Reporter Yoon Woon-sik [email protected]
Representative examples are swimming and high jumping. One Asian record and five competition records set by Korea in this competition all came from swimming. In particular, Kim Woo-min (22), who won three medals in the competition, and Hwang Seon-woo (20, Gangwon Provincial Office), who won six medals (2 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze), are promising stars. Kim Woo-min was also selected as the best player (MVP) of the Korean team along with Im Si-hyeon (20, Korea National Sport University), who won three archery medals. There is interest in how high jumper Woo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin City Hall), who won the silver medal, will be able to leap in Paris. Ahn Se-young (21, Samsung Life Insurance), who impressed people with her fighting spirit after suffering an injury (knee), also raises expectations for the Paris Olympics. Ahn Se-young, who won gold medals in the women’s badminton team event and singles, has grown rapidly since the Tokyo Olympics and rose to No. 1 in the world rankings. She has no opponents, including last August when she became the first Korean player to win the singles title at the World Championships. Shin Yu-bin (19, Korean Air) also won the gold medal in table tennis women’s doubles with Jeon Ji-hee (31, Mirae Asset Securities), showing her rapid growth.
High jumper Woo Sang-hyuk poses at the awards ceremony after winning the men’s high jump silver medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Hangzhou/Senior Reporter Yoon Woon-sik [email protected]
■ The gap with Japan has narrowed… Korea unusually aimed for 3rd place overall in this competition. I thought I couldn’t go beyond Japan. As a result, Korea ranked 3rd overall (42 gold, 59 silver, 89 bronze). Although it fell short of the original goal of gold medals (45-50), the gap with Japan (52 gold, 67 silver, 69 bronze) was not as big as expected. However, there are concerns. Unlike 2018, when the Asian Games were considered a prelude to the Tokyo Olympics, Japan dispatched second-level athletes in judo and other fields to this tournament in order to focus on the Paris Olympics. The growth of India (28 gold, 38 silver, 41 bronze), which ranked 4th overall, is also notable. Except for men’s soccer and baseball, which won gold medals, the slump in ball sports such as volleyball and basketball is painful. The Korea Sports Council plans to form a team immediately after returning to Korea and prepare countermeasures. Lee Ki-heung, president of the Korea Sports Council, said at the closing press conference on the 8th, “We were too lazy to do anything,” and added, “In addition to selection and concentration, we will comprehensively judge the (international sports) trend and look at mid- to long-term and short-term (measures).”
Kim Hong-yeol is dancing in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games breaking preliminaries held at the Archangel Canal Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on the 6th. Kim Hong-yeol won a silver medal in this competition. Hangzhou/Yonhap News
■ The future of the Asian Games This Asian Games also showed the direction in which the competition will move in the future. In particular, breaking (breakdancing) and e-sports, which were first adopted as official events in the Asian Games, attracted a lot of attention, especially among young people. Team leader Choi Yoon looked back and said, “I was really surprised by the enthusiasm of the e-sports stadium.” Breaking, in which Kim Hong-yeol won the silver medal, has also been adopted as an official event at the Paris Olympics. Esports will also be held as an official event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. However, the future of the Asian Games is not rosy. We’ve heard stories about ‘Korea-China-Japan sports competition’ before, but the dominance of China (201 gold, 111 silver, 71 bronze) has become more severe in this competition. Although North Korea returned to the international sports competition for the first time in five years (11 gold, 18 silver, and 10 bronze medals), there was virtually no exchange of athletes, so the meaning of the event as a place for harmony faded somewhat. Hangzhou/Reporter Lee Jun-hee [email protected]
2023-10-09 01:30:43
#BaseballMLB #Sports #News #Hankyoreh
