Photo = Getty Images Korea
The 2024 Paris Olympics opens on July 26 (Korean time). There are now about 2 months left. Although public expectations are high, the Korean team’s goals for this tournament are not as good as in the past: five gold medals and a top 15 overall ranking. This is due to a combination of reduced skills, the size of the athletes, and the ambiguous position of the existing strong sports. Taekwondo is anxious to protect its pride as a home country, and there are many concerns that table tennis may end up with no medals for three consecutive competitions. The outlook for judo, a speculative stock, is also not bright.
In times like these, gold medal candidates need to work harder. Archery Im Si-hyeon (22, Korea National Sport University), Kim Woo-jin (32, Cheongju City Hall), modern pentathlon Jeon Woong-tae (29, Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall), Kim Seon-woo (28, Gyeonggi Provincial Office), badminton Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), track and field Woo Sang-hyuk (22, Samsung Life Insurance) Korea’s success at the Paris Olympics depends on the performance of swimmers such as (28, Yongin City Hall) and swimmer Hwang Seon-woo (21, Gangwon Provincial Office).
It is worrisome that many of these stars are having a hard time controlling their pace. In the case of Ahn Se-young, the world number one in women’s singles, her skills are unquestionable, but the fact that she has suffered thigh and knee injuries over the past two years is a factor of concern. She was also in poor condition at the Uber Cup (World Women’s Team Badminton Championships), which ended in Chengdu, China on the 5th, and she did not play in the semifinals against Indonesia.
Woo Sang-hyuk, ranked fourth in the world in men’s high jump, is also slow in improving his physical condition. His best record this year is 2m33, but he is falling short of the Olympic medal record and the Korean record he set (2m36), so he needs to work hard.
For those for whom recovery and pace management are key, the task is to reduce variables one by one until the Paris Olympics. As President Lee Ki-heung of the Korea Sports Council said, “In the worst case scenario, we may fall outside the top 20 in the overall rankings,” Korea’s prospects for the Paris Olympics are not bright. In a situation where gold medals are more urgent than in the past, it is natural that the entire nation’s attention is focused on the preparations of gold medal candidates for the competition. I am curious about how those who face many challenges in the remaining period will be able to reduce variables.
Jaemin Kwon, Sports Donga Reporter [email protected] See more articles by this reporter
2024-05-09 17:10:37
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