Twins, siblings double the power
By Nam Hyun-woo
Chung Hyeon
Chung Hong
GWANGJU ― Twins and sibling athletes are drawing attention at the Gwangju Universiade, not only for their similar appearance but for their solid performances.
Korean tennis star Chung Hyeon, 19, is one of them. Hyeon, who made it into the top 16 in the men's singles after beating Finland's Helioevaara Harri Oliver 2-1 on Tuesday, has a brother three years his senior, Chung Hong, who has teamed with Jang Su-jeong and competes in mixed doubles.
The Chung family comes from a tennis background. Their father, Chung Seok-jin, played for the Korean Air team and now coaches the Samil Technical High School tennis team, for which his sons played. Though the two Chungs go to different universities ― the older Chung attends Konkuk University while the younger Chung attends Sangji University ― the two this time represent Korea together.
At the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the younger Chung won a gold medal in men's doubles, but the older Chung was not selected for the national team.
The Korean tennis players, except for Chung Hyeon, who made his Wimbledon debut last month, entered the athletes' village on July 1. Chung Hong told reporters that, “My brother will likely win the gold.”
There are identical twins on the Korean women's football team -- defender Kim Du-ri and midfielder Kim U-ri. The 21-year-olds helped the Under 20 national team advance to the quarter-finals at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada.
Though they play for different teams ― Du-ri signed with the Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels and U-ri joined the Suwon FMC Black Rose ― they were reunited on the Universiade team, contributing to Korea's 3-0 Group A match win over Ireland on Monday.
Led by the Kim twins, Korea claimed three straight wins in all three group matches and advanced to the quarterfinals to face France on Wednesday.
At the Yeomju Bitgoeul Gymnasium on Sunday, two judokas with very similar looks stood on the podium ― Khasan and Khusen Khalmurzaev of Russia.
The two faced Koreans in the finals of the -90 kilogram and -81 kilogram events. While Khasan beat Wang Ki-chun by a wazari in the lighter category, Khusen was defeated by Gwak Dong-han by an ippon.
The two boast successful careers. From 2012, Khasan has won a series of junior and senior championships, including the 2015 Baku Grand Slam, which raised his world ranking to 10th.
Khusen also has a remarkable trophy collection of various medals from junior and senior championships.
The Gwangju Universiade is not the first time the Russian brothers have competed together at an international competition. They each won gold at the 2011 European Championship Juniors in Lommel, Belgium.