Tiny eastern island excited as hometown player wins first medal

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Mon, December 4, 2023 | 11:15

2018 Asian Games

Tiny eastern island excited as hometown player wins first medal

Posted : 2018-08-21 17:13

Updated : 2018-08-21 20:25

A referee raises the arm of the winner, South Korea's Nam Koung-jin, left, who beat Pakistan's Tayyab Raza in the men's 125kg freestyle wrestling category bronze medal bout in the 2018 Asiad at the Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia, Monday. / Yonhap

Equestrian overcomes bittersweet past

By Kang Aa-young

A wrestler from the country's tiny Ulleung Island of the east coast made history for his hometown by reaching the podium in the 2018 Asiad in Indonesia.

Nam Koung-jin, 29, won a bronze medal in the men's 125- kilometer freestyle wrestling, Monday, becoming the first Ulleung islander to win an Asian Games medal.

He hopes to continue his winning streak in the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo by winning another medal.

Nam, the nation's key freestyle wrestler in his weight class, is making headlines, as few famous athletes here come from small islands.

He began sports in elementary school on the island of some 10,000 inhabitants, initially learning the shot put.

With his muscular physique and energy, he soon stood out and a coach from the mainland scouted him when he was attending middle school.

"I used to help my father when he was fishing with nets. That would've helped," Nam said, when asked about his strength.

On the mainland, he was again one of the most distinguished athletes. With many coaches suggesting him to take up wrestling, he changed disciplines, dropping the field after he became fascinated with the skills involved in the former.

Nam became one of the country's strongest wrestlers, with his singular moves, coupled with his height of 178 centimeters and weight of 120kg, making him formidable.

"I grew up to be strong thanks to my parents," Nam said, adding he was lonely after leaving his home island. "My parents, who fish for a living, sent me lots of seafood to cheer me up."

When Nam suffered from an ankle sprain, he said he was able to overcome it, thinking of his parents. He said he will deliver the medal to them when he goes back to home.

"My next goal is to win a medal as the first Olympic medalist from Ulleung island at the 2020 Olympics," he smiled.

Silver medalists of Team South Korea pose during the victory ceremony at Jakarta International Equestrian Park in Indonesia, Monday. / Reuters-Yonhap

Equestrian clinches silver

South Korean equestrian Kim Hyeok looked grim after he and three teammates finished second in the team dressage, Monday. South Korea has dominated the discipline at the Asiad, winning five consecutive gold medals.

But Kim still has a chance to win gold in the individual dressage that starts Tuesday and will be determined today.

For him, competing in the Asian Games was much more than a medal hunt.

Kim has been described by the media as the "most unfortunate" athlete after he was not the selected to represent Korea at the 2014 Asian Games because of Chung Yu-ra, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil the close confidant of former President Park Geun-hye, both of whom are in prison adter being found guilty in a massive corruption scandal.

During the national competition, Chung made several mistakes, but these were deliberately overlooked and she was selected to represent South Korea at the Games held in Incheon. Kim was eliminated after he finished fifth.

The results caused a stir. Some alleged that Chung's mother played a role in getting her on the national team. But the controversy didn't change the results. The Korea Equestrian Federation (KEF) was also suspected of forging Chung Yu-ra's training reports while she was on the national team.

Kim was not convinced by the results, saying he became frustrated and seriously thought about quitting equestrianism.

"But I came to work harder because of her," said Kim. "I came all the way here because of her. It's true that I was mulling quitting riding but changed my mind because I liked riding and this is what I could do best."

Kim said he overcame the past, noting he is fine.

He vowed to do better in the individual dressage and said he would win a gold medal.

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