Universiade just a tune-up ahead of Rio Games

By Kwon Ji-youn

In a recent interview, judoka An Chang-rim stressed that standards at the Universiade are in some measure lower than at other international sporting events. Even so, Korea has sent some of its best athletes to compete at the World University Games taking place in its southwestern city of Gwangju.

This may be why the country has been sitting atop the medal standings for so long. Russia, too, fielded a delegation of 672 athletes, including some of its finest in track and field, to the 2013 Universiade in Kazan, where the hosts capped the medals table with an overwhelming lead over runner-up China. Russia took 156 of 353 gold at stake, while China finished with just 26.

In Gwangju, Korea has held the top spot for seven straight days, and boasts an aggregate of 43 gold, 28 silver and 26 bronze as of 10 p.m. Sunday.

According to Prof. Kim Hyun-duck of Keimyung University, Korea and Russia are among very few countries that send delegations studded with top-caliber competitors to the Universiade.

“The International University Sports Federation’s (FISU) influence in the sports industry has been increasing, but it remains a fact that most countries do not send their best athletes to the Universiade,” he said. “The drafts aren’t very competitive. But in Korea, the Universiade is recognized as an event of international level, and here, athletes receive compensation for medaling. And it’s natural that the hosts do their best.”

This year, Russia decided not to send its top-ranked gymnasts Margarita Mamun and Yana Kudryavtseva to Gwangju due to fears of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and China’s table tennis team is comprised of second-tier players who don’t normally compete in the International Table Tennis Federation World Circuit. Meanwhile, Asian Games gold medalist Son Yeon-jae spearheads the Korean rhythmic gymnastics team, and players on the Korean table tennis team are very well known in the World Circuit. Slovenia sent its second-tier national basketball team to this year’s Universiade, while Canada sent an all-Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s basketball team with the aim of giving them international experience.

But this isn’t the case for all countries and all sports, and so for select athletes, the Universiade is serving more or less as a final tune-up ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. A handful of Olympic medal favorites from around the world have joined their country’s delegations in Gwangju to give their programs a once-over before they head to the Brazilian city next year, and the competition they have brought has given Korean athletes a chance to brush up on their own campaigns. More than 150 Universiade medalists competed at the 2012 London Olympics and won 75 gold medals and 174 medals total in 21 sports.

The Korean gymnastics team, comprised of Yang Hak-seon, Park Min-soo, Lee Jun-ho, Jo Yeong-gwang and Lee Hyeok-jung, will attempt to improve on their silver-medal finish in the team finals when they represent the country in Rio. Park, in particular, finished fourth in the men’s horizontal bar event with a score just 0.266 points short of Fabian Hambuechen’s, brightening his prospects for next year’s mega sporting event. Given that the German’s main stage since 2004 has been the Olympics and world championships, Park’s Universiade appearance will have taught him a few things that will help him better prepare.

The shooting team won more medals than they thought they would, and Park Dae-hun’s triple and Kim Ji-hye’s double have heightened expectations for Rio. “I’m glad to have performed so well at my very last Universiade,” Kim said. “I now look to Rio with more confidence.”

Son, who is looking to Rio for her first Olympic podium finish, faces competition in Melitina Staniouta, who won an individual all-around bronze at the 2013 Baku Universiade. Sprinter Kim Kuk-young broke the Korean record in the men’s 100m event at the Universiade to win tickets to both the world championships in August and the Rio Games. Other young athletes to represent Korea at Rio include tennis star Chung Hyeon, archer Ki Bo-bae and judoka Wang Ki-chun.