NK athletes card surprise performances
North Korea’s weightlifter Ri Jong-hwa celebrates winning her country’s third gold in the women's 58 kg division on the top spot of the podium during an award ceremony at the Moonlight Festival Garden Weightlifting Venue, Monday. / Yonhap
By Yoon Sung-won
INCHEON — North Korean athletes, who drew a lot of attention even before the Incheon Asian Games largely due to the politically sensitive situation between the two Koreas, have proven they deserve the spotlight for their performances as well.
They have surprised sports fans here with impressive outings in a number of events.
Three North Korean weightlifters earned gold medals on three consecutive days with two of them setting world records.
Female weightlifter Ri Jong-hwa garnered her country’s third gold at the Moonlight Festival Garden Weightlifting Venue, Monday.
The 23-year-old in the women's 58 kg division hoisted 102 ㎏ in the snatch and 134 ㎏ in the clean and jerk for a total of 236 ㎏ to claim the top spot on the podium.
“I’d like to deliver this news to our leader Kim Jong-un,” she said after the award ceremony.
North Korean weightlifter Kim Un-guk shouts with joy after breaking his own world record in the men’s snatch 62 kg class weightlifting event to win his country’s second gold medal at the Moonlight Festival Garden Weightlifting Venue, Saturday. / Yonhap
A day earlier, North Korea’s Kim Un-guk won the gold in the men’s 62 kg event at the same venue. On his way to the victory, Kim broke two world records. He lifted a total of 332 kg to break his own previous world record by 5 kg.
Kim had set the previous world record in total weight in winning the 2012 Olympic gold in London.
“Breaking the world record is something all athletes wish for,” Kim said. “I tried to set a better score than the one from the London Olympics, and I made it.”
On Saturday, another North Korean Om Yun-chol, won the country’s first gold medal in the men’s 58 kg weightlifting final held at the same venue.
In his victory, Om, the smallest athlete in the event, also set a world record in the clean-and-jerk, exciting spectators.
Even after he secured the gold medal, Om broke his own world record again by 1 kg by lifting 170 kg in his final clean-and-jerk attempt.
“With our leader Kim Jong-un’s teachings in mind, I pledged to do my best,” Om said after the event. “I wanted to break the record, and I worked hard to bring success to Kim Jong-un.”
Experts attributed the country’s good results in the early stages of the Asiad to geographic advantages, such as proximity, as well as the North Korean regime’s drive to foster sports.
“The country has accelerated systematically nurturing sports since the inauguration of incumbent leader Kim Jong-un. For the North, it is expected to do its upmost to be more competitive since the Incheon Asiad is being hosted in the other part of Korean Peninsula,” said Nam Sung-wook, a professor in the Department of North Korea Studies at Korea University. “The country is expected to garner better results than before thanks to such efforts.”
The North Korean women’s football team celebrates after scoring its second goal against Vietnam in a match at the Incheon Asian Games at the Namdong Asiad Rugby Field in Incheon on Sept. 16. North Korea won the match 5-0. / Yonhap
North Korea’s women football squad has been also delivered at the Asiad.
On Saturday, the country defeated Hong Kong 5-0 in a match held at the Namdong Asiad Rugby Field in Incheon, paving an easy path into the quarterfinals.
It was the North Korean female footballers’ second straight victory at the Incheon Asiad. North Korea defeated Vietnam also by 5-0 on Sept. 16. North Korean female footballers won the silver at the 2010 Asiad in Guangzhou, China.
North Korea’s male footballers also secured a ticket for the round of 16 in the Asiad after a 2-0 victory over Pakistan at the Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. North Korea had earlier defeated China 3-0 to begin the tournament on Monday.
In previous international competitions, the North has achieved such good results mostly in individual sports. But this started to extend to team events such as football, which requires a well-established training system.
“The country recently started to build more sports facilities. Its leader Kim Jong-un seems to have the intention of leaving a sporty and active impression on the global society by expanding support for basketball and football,” Professor Nam said. “The country treats sports stars as national heroes. This further encourages young North Korean talents to become athletes.”
Korea Times intern reporter Woo Hae-chung contributed to this article.