Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Koreans come up short in traditional Olympic strongholds
Wrestler Ryu Han-su, top, wrestles with Egypt's Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed in the round of 16 in the men's 67-kilogram Greco-Roman wrestling match at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, Japan, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Wrestlers, lifters leave Tokyo without podium finish
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Wrestling and weightlifting, which had been considered Korea's “core” sports with strong medal hopes, finished at the Tokyo Olympics leaving Korean competitors empty-handed.
For the first time in 45 years, wrestling, which had been a reliable Olympic event for Korean athletes who have won a total of 36 medals so far (11 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze), finished this time with no Koreans making it to the podium. Ever since the Montreal Olympics in 1976, Korea had won at least one medal in every Summer Games.
Only two wrestlers represented Korea at the Tokyo Olympics as the national team was hit hard by COVID-19.
In March, Korea sent 50 wrestlers, coaches and trainers to a competition in Kazakhstan to earn Olympic quotas, and about half that number traveled to Bulgaria in May for another competition. But 37 of them caught COVID-19 and thus were unable to compete for the Olympics.
Ryu Han-su, who had contracted COVID-19 but fully recovered before the Games, lost to Egypt's Mohamed Ibrahim El-Sayed by a score of 7-6 in the round of 16 in the men's 67kg Greco-Roman event. Kim Min-seok also lost to Iran's Amin Mirzazadeh in the round of 16 in the men's 130kg Greco-Roman event.
“This was my last Olympics. I didn't want to leave any regrets, but I played a difficult game by conceding a lot of points in the beginning. I feel sorry for my younger teammates,” Ryu cried.
Weightlifter Jin Yun-seong reacts to a failed clean and jerk attempt in the men's 109-kilogram weightlifting event for the Summer Olympics at the Tokyo International Forum, Tuesday. Yonhap
A total of seven Korean weightlifters ― four women and three men ― competed in the Tokyo Olympics, but all fell short of obtaining a medal.
This came as a disappointment to many fans who still remember the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when Korean weightlifting greats Jang Mi-ran and Sa Jae-hyouk dominated their sport by winning gold medals in the women's over-75 kilograms and the men's 77 kilograms, respectively.
In the men's 109-kilogram weightlifting event, Jin Yun-seong failed to lift 230 kilograms with a clean and jerk, finishing sixth.
“I still need to put on more weight. That means I have potential for further development. I'll try to be a more complete lifter in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024 and win a gold medal,” Jin said.
In the women's over-87-kilogram weightlifting event, Lee Seo-mi narrowly missed her chance to secure a medal by finishing fourth. In the women's 76-kilogram weightlifting event, Kim Su-hyeon's second attempt at lifting 140 kilograms was ruled invalid in a 2-1 majority decision by referees because she straightened her arms too late in the lift. Otherwise she might have won the bronze.
In addition, Koreans failed to clinch gold in judo and badminton. Cho Guham won a silver medal in the men's 100-kilogram event, and An Baul and An Chang-rim won bronze in the men's 66-kilogram and 73-kilogram events. In the badminton category, the women's doubles pair of Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong took home bronze.