[뉴스초점] Korean Swimmers Prevent China’s Dominance at Hangzhou Asian Games
The Hangzhou Asian Games is currently underway, and the Korean national team is performing exceptionally well. As they sail towards their goal of 50 gold medals and a 3rd place finish overall, let’s delve into the details with sports reporter Jeong Joo-hee.
Anchor: The second day of the games also turned out to be a “golden day,” with several unexpected victories. Could you give us a recap of the team’s achievements?
Reporter: On the first day, the team won 5 gold medals, and they added 5 more on the second day. The gold medals were awarded in shooting, taekwondo sparring, saber fencing, and swimming, specifically in the men’s 50m freestyle and 800m relay events.
Anchor: Korean swimming’s “golden generation” has really made an impact. Not only did they win the gold medals, but they also set new Asian records, putting a halt to China’s dominance. Could you provide more details?
Reporter: Sunwoo Hwang, Woomin Kim, Hojun Lee, and Jaehoon Yang won the 800m relay, setting a new Asian record with a time of 7:01.73. This is the first time a Korean swimmer has won a gold medal in a relay race. Sunwoo Hwang also won a bronze in the 100m freestyle before clinching the gold. There was another surprise gold medal in the men’s 50m freestyle, with Ji Yu-chan setting a new competition record of 21.72 seconds. This is Korea’s first gold in the event in 21 years. Choi Dong-yeol also won a bronze in the men’s 100m breaststroke, a feat not achieved by Korea in 61 years. Hwang Sun-woo will be taking a day off before competing in the 200m freestyle event, where he aims to win another gold.
Anchor: Korean swimming is truly experiencing a golden age. We look forward to their future endeavors. Moving on to other sports, there have been golden moments in fencing and taekwondo as well. Could you elaborate?
Reporter: In fencing, both Choi In-jeong and Oh Sang-wook secured gold medals. Choi won in the women’s event, while Oh emerged victorious in the men’s saber, defeating Koo Bon-gil, who held the record for four consecutive individual victories at the Asian Games. Koo Bon-gil will have another chance to claim gold in the men’s saber team event. In taekwondo, Jang Jun won gold in the leading sparring event, following Korea’s first gold medal in the Poomsae event. Today, Lee Ki-beom, Park Hye-jin, and Kim Yu-jin will compete in hopes of adding more medals to the tally.
Anchor: The good news keeps coming. Could you update us on the current medal standings?
Reporter: Korea recently secured a gold medal in shooting’s men’s 10m running target team event, as well as silver and bronze medals in the individual and mixed events respectively. With 11 gold medals, we currently hold the second position overall. China remains in the lead with over 40 gold medals, while Japan is in third place with 5 gold medals. The men’s table tennis final against China is scheduled for tonight. Additionally, the rugby sevens team has reached the finals for the first time in 17 years and will compete for gold against Hong Kong. Despite being an unpopular sport, this final presents an opportunity to showcase the beauty of rugby.
Anchor: Thank you for the update. Moving on to football, the round of 16 draw has been completed. What can you tell us about Korea’s upcoming match?
Reporter: The round of 16 matchups for men’s football have been determined, and Korea will face Kyrgyzstan. If they win this match, they will face the winner of China and Qatar in the quarter-finals. To reach the finals, Korea will potentially meet challenging opponents, such as Japan and North Korea. Currently, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are also strong contenders. Although Kyrgyzstan ranks 96th in FIFA rankings, we must not underestimate them as it will be a one-game knockout match. Coach Hwang Seon-hong urges the team to remain confident but cautious. Lee Kang-in, who performed well in the last group stage game, is also expected to contribute significantly in the round of 16.
Anchor: The men’s volleyball team faced disappointment after being eliminated in the round of 12, ending their 61-year streak of winning medals. Can you give us an update on their last match?
Reporter: Men’s volleyball suffered a shocking defeat in the qualifiers, losing to India, and further disappointment followed in the round of 12 against Pakistan. This marks the first time in 61 years that the team failed to win a medal. The players’ high salaries, which total 6.6 billion won, added to the disappointment surrounding their poor performance. Post-Asian Games, the team needs to strategize for a resurgence.
Taking inspiration from men’s volleyball, which faced early elimination, men’s basketball starts their group stage matches today. Their first opponent is Indonesia. Although they are considered weaker, we must not become complacent. The team will keep the lessons learned from men’s volleyball in mind. “When I heard about (volleyball), the atmosphere suddenly became scary. If we don’t let our guard down as much as possible … I think we can pass the prelims with a good feeling if we do what we do.”
Anchor: Lastly, Kwon Soon-woo, the leading Korean tennis player, was involved in a controversy over his behavior. Could you enlighten us on the matter?
Reporter: In a men’s singles match yesterday, Kwon Soon-woo, ranked much higher than his opponent from Thailand, suffered a defeat. After the match concluded, Kwon exhibited anger by slamming his racket on the court and hitting the chair and coat. Additionally, he did not reciprocate the handshake offered by his opponent at the net. Videos of this incident quickly spread on social media, causing controversy. Kwon has been on a losing streak since returning from injury at the US Open.
(Note: The text has been modified and expanded for clarity and coherence.)
[뉴스초점] Swimming’s ‘golden generation’ prevented China from dominating … Football round of 16 draw complete
It is the third day of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Our team is sailing towards its goal, aiming for 50 gold medals and 3rd place overall.
Let’s discuss more details with the reporter of the Department of Sports and Culture, Jeong Joo-hee.
Hello.
[앵커]
Following the first day, the second day was also a ‘golden day’. As well as the events where gold medals were expected, there were even ‘surprise’ gold medals.
[기자]
Our team won 5 gold medals on the first day and added 5 more gold medals yesterday. News of the gold medal came first in the shooting, followed by gold medals in taekwondo sparring and saber fencing. The finale was highlighted by swimming, where two gold medals were won in the men’s 50m freestyle and the men’s 800m relay.
[앵커]
The ‘golden generation’ of Korean swimming has done something. They waved the national flag while setting new Asian records in the 50m freestyle and 800m relay. A coveted gold medal put the brakes on China’s dominance.
[기자]
Sunwoo Hwang, Woomin Kim, Hojun Lee, and Jaehoon Yang won the 800m relay, setting a new Asian record with a time of 7:01.73. This is the first time a Korean swimmer has won a gold medal in a relay race. Sunwoo Hwang won a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle and a gold medal. The ‘main item’ still remains. Hwang Sun-woo, who is aiming for a gold medal in the 200m freestyle, will take a day off and return tomorrow.
There was also a surprise gold medal in the men’s 50m freestyle. Ji Yu-chan surprised everyone by reaching the finals by setting a new competition record from the preliminaries. In the finals, he set a new competition record of 21.72 seconds, giving Korea its first gold medal in 21 years in the 50m freestyle event. Let’s hear Ji Yu-chan’s thoughts first.
“I didn’t expect to win a gold medal, but I was in good shape when I came here, so I was secretly looking forward to it, but now that I’ve won it, it feels really good.”
Choi Dong-yeol also won a bronze medal in the men’s 100m breaststroke. It is said to be 61 years since Korea won a medal in this event. Today, Kim Woo-min, who won the gold medal in the relay race, is trying to win two gold medals in the 1,500m event, and the men Race 400m medley relay, where Lee Ho-jun performed well, through to the finals.
[앵커]
It really seems like the golden age of Korean swimming. I look forward to the future even more. Yesterday, we continued to display as a powerhouse by making gold in fencing and taekwondo.
[기자]
In fencing, a gold medal was won after two consecutive days of family fighting. In the women’s event, her older sister, Choi In-jeong, smiled, but in the men’s saber, her younger brother, Oh Sang-wook, defeated Koo Bon-gil and won the gold medal. Koo Bon-gil’s record of four consecutive individual victories at the Asian Games was cancelled, but the day after tomorrow (28th), he will challenge for the gold medal in the men’s saber team event with members of the Olympic gold medal team Tokyo.
In Taekwondo, which gave Korea its first gold medal in the Poomsae event, leading sparring athlete Jang Jun added another gold medal. Today, Lee Ki-beom, Park Hye-jin, and Kim Yu-jin participate and continue the medal race. All three players are in the quarter-finals.
[앵커]
Good news continues for medals today.
[기자]
Korea Shooting recently won a gold medal in the men’s 10m running target team event and a silver medal in the individual event. He also won a bronze medal in the 10m air rifle mixed event with band electrode.
Korea, which added one gold medal, is in second place overall with 11 gold medals. China remains in the lead with more than 40 gold medals, and Japan is in third place with 5 gold medals. The men’s table tennis final is scheduled for tonight. The opponent is China, a powerhouse in table tennis. Korea and China will meet for the eighth consecutive time in the finals of the Asian Games. China has always lost the gold medal in front of the Great Wall of China, but we hope that we will be able to overcome the wall of China this time.
In addition, the rugby sevens team, which is challenging for its first gold medal in 21 years, defeated China and reached the finals for the first time in 17 years. Tonight we will compete against Hong Kong for the gold medal. It is an unpopular sport that has not received much attention from the public, but I hope that the beauty of rugby will be shown to the full in today’s final.
[앵커]
The football round of 16 brackets has also been completed. Hwang Seon-Hong will face Kyrgyzstan tomorrow.
[기자]
Every team that progressed to the round of 16 in men’s football, including Korea, has been determined. Hwang Seon-hong will face Kyrgyzstan in the round of 16 tomorrow, and if they win here, they will face the winner of China and Qatar in the quarter-finals. We have to reach the finals to meet our tough enemies, Japan and North Korea. Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia are likely to meet in the semi-finals.
Kyrgyzstan, who we face tomorrow night, are underdogs in 96th place in the FIFA rankings, but as it is a one-game game, we are expected to go all out. The atmosphere is great as the team progress to the round of 16 by scoring 16 goals and conceding no goals, but coach Hwang Seon-hong urges them to be confident but not to let their surveillance down. Lee Kang-in, who played for 36 minutes in the last game of the group stage and worked well with his teammates, is also expected to show his skills seriously from the round of 16.
[앵커]
Men’s volleyball, which was in shock after being eliminated in the round of 12 and missing out on a medal for the first time in 61 years, closes the tournament today with 7th place in the match against Indonesia.
[기자]
Men’s volleyball was eliminated before the opening ceremony, bowing to India in the qualifiers and losing to Pakistan in the round of 12. I was very shocked because I had failed to win a medal for the first time in 61 years since 1962. In particular, the annual salary of the 12 members of the volleyball team is a total of 6.6 billion won, and the disappointment was even greater as the high-paid players achieved poor results. After the Asian Games, we have to think about how to overcome the volleyball slump.
Using men’s volleyball, which was quickly eliminated, as a lesson, men’s basketball enters the group stage starting today. The first match opponent is Indonesia. Although their position is below us, we cannot let our guard down in every game. After learning about the case of men’s volleyball, let’s look at the decision of the national team that left for Hangzhou with strong mental armor.
“When I heard about (volleyball), the atmosphere suddenly became scary. If we don’t let our guard down as much as possible … I think we can pass the prelims with a good feeling if we do what we do.”
[앵커]
Kwon Soon-woo, the leading Korean tennis player who tried to win the gold medal in this tournament, was the subject of a ‘bad manners controversy’. What kind of argument is this?
[기자]
It was a men’s singles match yesterday. In the second round, where he had a bye, Kwon Soon-woo had his first match against a player from Thailand who was ranked 500 lower than him. Here, he lost by a set score of 1-2, recording his 6th consecutive loss since returning from injury at the US Open. The controversial scene begins as soon as the game ends. The player Kwon Soon-woo slams his racket on the court as if he is very angry. He hits the chair and as if his anger doesn’t go away, he hits the coat again. At the end of a tennis match, it is good manners to shake hands with the opponent. The Thai player waited for Kwon Soon-woo at the net to shake hands after the victory, and even went to visit him personally, but Kwon Soon-woo did not respond to the handshake. There were many onlookers at the scene, and videos taken by the onlookers spread quickly through social media such as China’s Weibo. Kwon Soon-woo is said to have approached the Thai player today and apologized. Nevertheless, criticism is on the rise, calling it a shameful act.
[앵커]
There was another handshake argument. After the inter-Korean match in the men’s 73kg judo class, there was controversy because the North Korean athlete, Kim Cheol-gwang, did not shake hands with our athlete.
[기자]
Kim Cheol-gwang is a player who participated in the 2018 World Championships as part of the unified team of North and South Korea and has a deep relationship with our players. I think that’s why this scene felt more embarrassing.
Then, even at the shooting podium where the national anthem was playing, the North Korean team that won the silver medal refused to take a group photo with our team. When the national anthem was played, the North Korean players had sad expressions and even appeared to be wiping away tears. The cold inter-Korean relations seem to be reflected on the sports stage as well.
[앵커]
It’s only the third day of the competition and there already seems to be a lot to talk about. We look forward to seeing medals pouring in for our athletes tonight too.
[기자]
Thank you
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