Yeo vaults to nation's first medal in women's gymnastics

Yeo Seo-jeong competes in the women's vault final of the Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Gymnastics Centre, Sunday. Yonhap

Sabre team wins bronze; Korea edges out Japan in volleyball

By Kang Seung-woo

Gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong capped a series of Korean female athletes' impressive performances over the weekend, winning bronze in the vault ― the nation's first-ever Olympic medal in women's gymnastics.

Along with her third-place finish, other female athletes also wowed local sports fans after adding one more gold medal in archery and one bronze in fencing, along with a come-from-behind victory over Japan in volleyball, at the Tokyo Games that passed the halfway mark since their kick-off, July 23.

Also on Sunday, the baseball team beat the Dominican Republic 4-3 in the first game of the knockout stage after scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth, punctuated by Kim Hyun-soo's walk-off single. Korea will face Israel, Monday.

However, the highly-hyped football squad was eliminated from the quarterfinals.

As of 9 p.m., Sunday, Korea ranked seventh in the medal tally with five gold, four silver and eight bronze medals ― China leads the standings with 23 gold, 14 silver and 13 bronze medals

The 19-year-old, who won gold in the same event of the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018, averaged 14.733 points in her two vaults, placing herself behind Rebeca Andrade of Brazil with 15.083 and Mykayla Skinner of the United States with 14.916. Skinner was the replacement for Simone Biles, the defending Olympic champion who withdrew from the competition due to health concerns.

Korean volleyball players celebrate after defeating Japan in a qualifying match of the women's volleyball competition at the Tokyo Olympics, Saturday. Yonhap

Yeo scored 15.333 in her first vault, but her total was lowered by her second with 14.133.

“My first vault was so good that I started thinking too much about matching that with my second vault,” she said. “That's why I made mistakes. But I have no regrets. I am satisfied with this result.”

Better known as the daughter of Yeo Hong-chul, who claimed a silver medal in the men's vault at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the junior Yeo's bronze has made them the first father-daughter duo from Korea to win Olympic medals.

The senior Yeo, now a commentator for local broadcaster KBS, was more proud of her daughter's achievement than being remembered as the medal-winning father and daughter.

“It's great. But I am happier that she's the first female gymnast from Korea to win a medal,” he said.

Fencers from the Russian Olympic Committee, France and Korea pose after the medal ceremony for the women's sabre team event at the Tokyo Olympics, Saturday. Yonhap

In archery, An San shot her way to becoming a triple gold medalist at the Games, Friday, after defeating Elena Osipova of the Russian Olympic Committee in a shoot-out to win the womne's individual title. Previously, she also claimed gold in the mixed team and the women's team events.

The 20-year-old Olympic rookie has gone down as the nation's first athlete to take three gold medals at a Summer Games.

“I did my best, and that led to good results. I feel nothing but happy,” she said after the event. “Everything went to plan. Although there was some wind, it was totally fine. I like how I performed.”

The women's sabre team also came from behind with a 10-point deficit to beat Italy 45-42 to finish third, achieving the nation's first Olympic podium finish in the women's sabre team event.

Midway through the bronze medal contest, made up of nine individual bouts among three fencers, the second-ranked Italians were outperforming the fourth-ranked Koreans 25-15, but Yoon Ji-su cut the deficit to 26-30 in the sixth match and Seo Ji-yeon put Korea in control for the first time, outlasting Michela Battiston 9-3 in the following bout for a 35-33 lead.

“We were so desperate to win an Olympic medal. This is so big for us,” said Kim Ji-yeon, who won the individual gold in sabre fencing at the 2012 London Olympics. “It was hard to overcome the injury, but I could come to this stage just because of my last Olympic challenge.”

The national fencing team finished the Tokyo Games with one gold, one silver and three bronze.

The women's volleyball added the final piece of the puzzle for Team Korea's highlight reel plays over the weekend.

Against its archrival, Japan, Korea drew first blood 25-19, but the opposition evened the match in the following set. The intense game came down to the final set, during which Korea was trailing by two at 14-12, but the Stefano Lavarini-led Korean side scored four unanswered points to take down Japan 16-14 behind an impressive performance by Park Jeong-ah, who accounted for three of the final four points, and Kim Yeon-Koung, who fired off 30 points.

With three victories against one loss in the qualifying round, Korea has clinched its spot in the quarterfinals regardless of the outcome of its match against Serbia, scheduled for Monday.

“I feel like I am on cloud nine,” said Park, who had 15 points. “Facing Japan is more than just a match, making me nervous, but I feel much better that we beat Japan on a big stage such as the Olympics.”

Lee Dong-gyeong, left, lies on the ground after Korea lost to Mexico 6-3 in a quarterfinals match of the Tokyo Olympics, Saturday. Yonhap

The football team, which was looking for another Olympic medal following its bronze at the London Games, saw its hopes dashed early after being thrashed by Mexico 6-3.

Henry Martin broke open the match with a close-range header in the 12th minute, but the lead was cancelled eight minutes later by Lee Dong-gyeong, who curled a left-footed shot into the top right corner.

However, the tie did not last long as the 2012 Olympic champion added two more goals from Francisco Cordova and Luis Romo before halftime.

Six minutes into the second half, Lee found the net again, making it 3-2, but Martin and Cordova each had their second goals of the night in the 54th and 63rd minutes, respectively, and Eduardo Aguirre added his team's final score on 84 minutes.

Hwang Ui-jo scored at the end of extra time, which came a little bit too late.

The Korean men's archery team failed to achieve a gold medal sweep for the second straight time after Kim Woo-jin, who was the lone Korean archer in the quarterfinals of the men's individual competition, fell to Tang Chih-Chun of Chinese Taipei.

“I am disappointed with how the event played out. But that's life. You can't always have a happy ending,” Kim said, admitting that he did get a little more nervous.