Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Rio 2016: Friend for today is tomorrow's heartbreak
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Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh, left, celebrates victory with his South Korean coach Park Chung-gun, after winning the gold medal in the men's 10 meter air pistol event at the Olympic Shooting Centre on Saturday. /Courtesy of Park Chung-gun
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
A friend for today is tomorrow’s heartbreak. This situation is quite common in international sport. The 2016 Rio Olympics is no exception.
Many South Korean coaches are working for other countries in a bid to beat “Team Korea”. These coaches reveal the secret training methods of sports at which South Koreans excel.
On Saturday, Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh defeated South Korean defending champion Jin Jong-oh in the men’s 10 meter air pistol, setting an Olympic record with 202.5 points.
Behind Vietnam’s first-ever gold medalist was South Korean coach Park Chung-gun, who has trained Hoang for two years since the end of the 2014 Asian Games.
Park and his Vietnamese shooters used to visit South Korea for advanced training, such as shooting at electronic targets used in international competitions.
“I am glad about Hoang’s victory,” said coach Park. “I still feel sorry that Jin Jong-oh didn’t win any medal.”
Kim Seon-il and Chang Jae-kwan from South Korea also have coached shooters from Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, respectively.
Shooting is not the only sport at which South Koreans are competitive. Among 56 national archery teams at the Rio Olympics, nine teams are led by coaches from South Korea, which has long been strong in the sport. The South Korean coaches even joked that Korean had become the official language of the archery range in Rio.
While South Korean archers have proven their world-class skills with the men’s and women’s teams sweeping golds on Saturday and Sunday, teams with South Korean coaches showed great progress.
Behind the U.S. men’s archery team that won silver was coach Lee Ki-sik, who led the South Korean national archery team from 1984 to 1996.
He has been piloting the U.S. archers since 2006 and saw his athletes defeat South Koreans at the 2012 London Olympics.
To prepare for the Rio Olympics, Lee adopted special training methods for the U.S. archers, such as shooting at a retired aircraft carrier to get used to heavy wind.
However, his team fell short of beating the South Koreans, who trained at a baseball stadium to build psychological muscle to overcome crowd noise.
“(The South Koreans were) unbelievable,” Lee said after the men’s final round on Sunday, referring to his counterparts as “the best-ever South Korean archers.”
Other teams participating led by South Korean coaches include Chinese judokas, Filipino table tennis players and the Cambodian taekwondo team.
With their competitiveness improving, they might put pressure on South Koreans in sports that South Korea traditionally dominates.