Korea participates at least in Olympics in 48 years
Player size expected to be around 150
There are still additional opportunities, such as preliminaries, etc.
Judo, table tennis, etc. are finalized next month.
The Korean athletes who will participate in the Paris Olympics will make an all-out effort to secure a spot for the Olympics for a month. In a situation where most team ball sports have been wiped out, efforts are being made to secure last-minute participation in new sports such as breaking and sport climbing.
Athletes from each country participating in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, which will open on July 26, will submit their final entries at the end of June. As of the 16th, the size of the Korean team at the Paris Olympics, which will compete for 329 gold medals in 32 sports, is 116 athletes in 15 sports. 20 people will participate in swimming, including swimming and diving, 15 people will participate in shooting, and 12 people will participate in badminton. On the 16th, the national fencing team confirmed the list of 14 people to be dispatched to the Olympics, including the men’s saber team with the existing Oh Sang-wook, Koo Bon-gil, Park Sang-won, and Do Gyeong-dong.
However, the size of the Korean team is expected to be sent to the Paris Olympics, a significantly reduced number compared to the previous event, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (232 players). This is largely due to the large number of team sports such as soccer and volleyball being eliminated. In women’s handball, the only team ball sport in which Korea will participate, 14 players will participate. As additional participation rights are secured, around 140 to 150 players are expected to participate, creating the smallest Korean team in history in 48 years since the 1976 Montreal Olympics (50 players).
This is a situation where we literally have to do our best to secure the right to participate until the final entry deadline. But there is still a chance. Breaking, which was adopted as a new event at the Paris Olympics, and sport climbing, which became an official event for the second consecutive time following the Tokyo Olympics, are at the forefront.
Breaking will hold two final Olympic qualifiers in Shanghai, China on the 18th and 19th and in Budapest, Hungary on the 22nd and 23rd of next month. Depending on the combined performance of the first and second preliminary rounds, up to two people from each country can advance to the Olympic finals. In Korea, where three men and two women took up the challenge, ‘Breaking Legend’ Kim Hong-yeol (Hong Ten) took on the challenge. Kim Hong-yeol, who has been competing internationally since 2001, won a silver medal at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games and then won the Red Bull BC One World Finals, revealing his prospects for the Paris Olympics.
Sports climbing is also aiming to secure a ticket to the finals through the final Olympic qualifying round, which began in Shanghai, China, on the 16th. Korea expects up to six participants to participate in a total of four events for men and women, including combined (bouldering + lead) and speed.
In particular, attention is being paid to whether Kim Ja-in, the ‘veteran’ of the women’s combine, can overcome her failure to participate in the Tokyo Olympics and secure the right to participate in the Olympics. Kim Ja-in, known as the ‘Queen of Rock Climbing’ after reaching the top of the World Cup lead category 30 times, is igniting her will to participate in the Olympics by returning to active duty after giving birth in 2022 and becoming a member of the national team again. She is also a player to watch, including Seo Chae-hyun, who ranked 8th in the women’s combined final at the Tokyo Olympics, and Lee Do-hyun, a silver medalist at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games.
The national judo team will also attempt to secure an additional spot at the World Championships, a prelude to the Paris Olympics. According to the Korea Judo Association, as of the 16th, Korea had qualified for 10 of the 14 individual weight classes in judo at the Olympics. The events for which tickets have not yet been secured are -73kg and -90kg for men, -100kg and -70kg for women.
At the World Championships, which will be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the 19th to the 24th, Lee Eun-gyeol in the men’s 73 kg class and Won Jong-hoon in the men’s 100 kg class are aiming to get on the last train to the Olympics. If they fail to secure a spot at the World Championships, they will have to compete in the top 17 of the Olympic rankings by the 24th of next month. Along with judo, the size of the athletes for table tennis, golf, and track and field will be confirmed according to the Olympic rankings that will be announced next month.
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2024-05-16 17:22:09
#Breaking #Hong #Ten #Climbing #Kim #Jain #Paris #Olympics #Nate #Sports
