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| Rhythmic gymnast Kim Chae-woon performs with the ball in the women's team event of the 2018 Asian Games at the Jakarta International Expo in Indonesia, Tuesday. South Korea finished third and won a bronze medal. / Yonhap |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
South Korean high school athletes won a surprising bronze medal in the women' s rhythmic team event at the Asian Games on Tuesday.
The South Korean team consisting of four rhythmic gymnasts ― Kim Chae-woon, Seo Go-eun, Lim Se-eun and Kim Joo-won ― finished third in the event at the Jakarta International Expo, following Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
All the Koreans are high school students with less international experience than their predecessors, including retired rhythmic gymnast and Asian Games gold medalist Son Yeon-jae.
"It was a nice experience," Kim Chae-woon told reporters after the competition. "I was rueful about my performance in the individual event, but in the team event I had no such regrets. I'm happy to be able to clinch a bronze in the team event."
Kim finished eighth in the women's rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around competition held prior to the team event.
She admitted she and her teammates were under pressure before the team event.
"Compared to our predecessors, we had less experience in international competitions and our records were not great as well," she said. "Of course, we were nervous before the event but we decided to do our best."
Kim revealed her ambitions for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, saying her dream is to win an Olympic medal.
National team coach Song Hee expressed satisfaction about the women's team event results.
"There was a reshuffle in national team members after Son retired. To be honest, while preparing for the Asian Games, we were not so confident about our medal hunt and sometimes I asked myself if we really could make it," she said. "I think the athletes have done a good job and they survived the lonely, tough fight against themselves."
Song was optimistic about the post-Son Yeon-jae athletes and said they could be as great as Son if they work on their physical toughness and ability to adapt.
