'Wrestling will never die'
National wrestling team coach An Han-bong trains with atheletes ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games. / Korea Times file
National wrestling team coach fights to keep Olympic dream alive
By Jung Min-ho
An Han-bong, coach of the national wrestling team
When An Han-bong became a coach for the Korean wrestling team ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, his goal was to win two gold medals. Now, the 54-year-old’s modest dream is to see wrestling in the 2020 Summer Games.
An took the helm of the beleaguered Greco-Roman team at the beginning of this month, and the training has become much more intense since. In a recent interview with The Korea Times, the 57-kilogram Greco-Roman gold medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Games said he has never acquiesced in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) provisional decision to drop wrestling from the Olympics.
“When the news broke, the skies crashed down on us. But I still believe wrestling will manage to survive the crisis,” An said. “I think the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) shocking decision in February has united all wrestlers around the globe in a feeling that we have to do something.”
With the IOC’s call to remove wrestling from its list of 25 “core” sports for the 2020 event, the sport will have to compete with seven others to remain in the world’s biggest sporting event. The IOC will hold an executive board meeting in May in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the final vote will be counted in September.
Referring to the fact that wrestling has been a part of the Olympics since its inception, An said the symbolic sport should be the last to be dropped, noting it was part of the foundations the Olympics were built upon.
“It is tantamount to a death penalty,” An said. “Competing in the Olympics is the sole dream of all wrestlers in a country that has no professional league.”
“The news is especially sad for Korea as featherweight freestyle wrestler Yang Jung-mo won the nation’s first gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics after the country became independent from Japan after World War 2.”
Furthermore, Team Korea has produced excellent wrestlers, including the men's 66-kilogram Greco-Roman gold medalist Kim Hyun-woo, who won 13 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze medals at the London Games last year.
An said wrestlers are also responsible for the IOC’s decision and have to take it as a “wake-up call.”
“At some point, I could see the spirit of old wrestling dying with athletes who like to use their brains rather than their bodies,” An said. “Wrestling has become much more defense-oriented. Once they win the points, they wait until the match ends, avoiding a clash with their opponents.”
An has adopted new programs to make the sport more dynamic and interesting. He said Korea will spearhead the movement.
“Wrestling is a showdown between men without a weapon. Win or lose, the audience should be able to feel the tension when the combat is going on,” An said. “We will restart from the beginning. I hope other countries follow suit.”
It bears further watching whether wrestling will remain in the Olympics with massive protests against its removal across the globe, including Russia, Japan and United States. Should the executive board’s vote be upheld, it will be a de facto end of wrestling in Korea with no more infusion of talent, An noted.