Korea manages to win two gold medals on 'golden days'

Korean archers An San, from left, Jang Min-hee and Kang Chae-young pose holding up their gold medals from the women's team event during the medal ceremony at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo, Sunday. Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

• Published Jul 25, 2021 10:17 PM KST
• Updated Jul 25, 2021 10:32 PM KST

Women's archery team wins for ninth straight time

By Kang Seung-woo

Korea's quest for gold at the Tokyo Olympics was off to a slow start over the weekend, with many of its top medal contenders failing to stand highest on the podium on what the country had expected to be “golden days.”

The women's archery team brought home the sport's second gold medal on Sunday, the second official day of the Summer Games, following one from the mixed team event the previous day, and Team Korea earned a bronze medal in judo. But its taekwondo squad's gold medal drought continued after Lee Dae-hoon, a two-time Olympic medalist, crashed out in the opening round.

On Saturday, Korea captured two bronze medals in fencing and taekwondo along with one gold.

As of 10 p.m., Sunday, Korea ranked fourth with two gold and three bronze medals, with China leading the pack with five gold medals, one silver and three bronze.

Korea's gold medal chase will continue, Monday, as the men's archery team will seek to defend their Olympic title, while judoka An Chang-rim will compete in the men's under-73-kilogram event.

The women archery squad, comprised of Kang Chae-young, Jang Min-hee and An San, cruised to the nation's ninth straight Olympic gold medal in the team event dating back to 1988 when the sport made its debut. Germany took bronze.

In the final at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field, they trounced the Russian team 6-0.

“I am just so happy all three of us got to put gold medals around our necks,” Kang said.

An said, “It's an honor to set this mark. We all came here wanting to get the team gold medal more than anything else, and we're so proud of accomplishing that.”

With the victory, An has become the first double gold medalist of the Tokyo Games. An, who paired with teenager Kim Je-deok, shot her way to gold in the mixed team competition that made its Olympic debut.

Now, she is eyeing a treble in Tokyo as the 20-year-old Olympic rookie will compete in the individual event, scheduled for Friday.

“I won't try to do too much in the individual event. I'll just let luck take care of everything,” she said. “I've already accomplished my mission.”

In judo, An Ba-ul, who was a silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Games, took the bronze medal in the men's under-66 kilogram event after defeating Manuel Lombardo of Italy with a decisive move at the Nippon Budokan.

The 27-year-old has made it to the Olympic podium for the second straight time, but it might be another loss for Team Korea to swallow, given that he was a gold medal favorite in the class along with Japan's Hifumi Abe, who won gold.

The Olympic football team, upset by New Zealand in its Group B opener, Thursday, rebounded with a 4-0 victory over Romania behind Lee Kang-in's two goals.

In the must-win match at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium, Romania's own goal got Korea on the scoreboard in the 26th minute, followed by midfielder Lee Dong-kyung in the 58th minute. Valencia CF midfielder Lee Kang-in also found the net twice in the last 10 minutes.

Korea will face Honduras, Wednesday, and a win will ensure a semifinal berth for Korea.

Lee Dae-hoon's early exit was a huge blow to Korea's gold chase. The three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist, with a silver in London and bronze in Rio, Lee Dae-hoon entered the competition as the No. 1 seed in the men's 68 kilograms, held at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, east of Tokyo.

Despite his strong start, the 29-year-old allowed a late surge by Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Rashitov, who forced the golden round and landed a bout-winning two-point trunk shot just 17 seconds into the extra period.

Lee Ah-reum, who participated in the women's 57 kilograms, was also eliminated in the round of 16.

Behind its successful history at the Summer Games with 12 gold, two silver and five bronze, Korea was looking for two gold and three silvers from its six practitioners, but on Saturday, Jang Jun and Sim Jae-young, both of whom were heavy gold medal favorites, failed to occupy the highest spot on the podium. Only Jang was able to finish with bronze.

On Saturday, fencer Kim Jung-hwan claimed a bronze in the men's individual sabre event after defeating Sandro Bazadze of Georgia to add to his personal medal haul of one gold and one bronze. The 37-year-old was a member of the gold-winning squad at the London Games in 2012 and also finished third in Rio de Janeiro five year ago.

Jang Jun took bronze in the men's 58-kilogram taekwondo competition. The 21-year-old, the 2019 world champion, was a gold medal favorite, but he was stunned by Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi of Tunisia in the semifinals. In the bronze medal match, he easily defeated Omar Salim of Hungary 46-16 to win his first Olympic medal.

Despite earning three medals, some Korean athletes who had been highly favored to win gold had unexpected early exits.

In men's shooting, four-time Olympic champion Jin Jong-oh saw his Olympic swansong end early after failing to qualify for the final of the men's 10-meter air pistol.

The 41-year-old, who was seeking to win a gold medal at his fourth consecutive Summer Games, aggregated 576 out of 600 points at the Asaka Shooting Range to finish 15th well outside the eight-person final. The defending three-time champion in the 50-meter pistol also won the 10-meter event in 2012.

“What can I say? I am just devastated,” Jin said. “I don't know what else to say. I have to regroup and prepare for the mixed event next.”

Jin will compete in the mixed 10-meter pistol event, scheduled for Tuesday.

Although Korea was awarded a bronze in fencing, Oh Sang-uk, top-ranked in the sabre, was upset by Bazadze in the quarterfinals, while ninth-ranked Gu Bon-gil was eliminated in the round 32.

Scaled-back opening ceremony

When the long-awaited opening ceremony was finally held Friday evening after a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean delegation, led by co-flag bearer volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung and swimmer Hwang Sun-woo, entered the nearly-empty Olympic Stadium 103rd based on Japanese alphabetical order.

Amid the prolonged pandemic, the Olympic organizer decided to hold the event without spectators due to the city's coronavirus state of emergency.

Greece, home to the first Games held, was the first nation to march in the Parade of Nations, while France and the United States, the future host countries for the Summer Games in 2024 and 2028, preceded Japan, which went last.

All Olympic athletes marched into the stadium to iconic video game music such as “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Final Fantasy” and “Dragon Quest.”

This time, the Korean delegation is comprised of 232 athletes and 122 officials in 29 events, but only 22 athletes from four sports and six officials, including chief delegate Jang In-hwa, participated in the ceremony due to COVID-19 concerns.

Naomi Osaka, the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title, lit the Olympic torch, and Japanese Emperor Naruhito declared the Games officially open, with the Olympic flag being raised at the stadium.

Titled “United by Emotion,” the ceremony was produced on Tokyo's hopes of bringing the world together through sport during the pandemic.

A moment of silence was also held during the event to remember those who have died of COVID-19.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron were among the many world leaders and dignitaries to attend the opening ceremony.