Im Ae-ji of South Korea (L) celebrates after beating Yeni Arias of Colombia in the quarterfinals of the women’s 54-kilogram boxing event at the Paris Olympics at North Paris Arena in Paris on Aug. 1, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
PARIS, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — After the final bell had rung in her quarterfinal bout at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, South Korean boxer Im Ae-ji wasn’t sure if she had won.
She stood nervously as the referee Pavel Pavlov held her wrist in his right hand and that of the Colombian fighter Yeni Arias in his left, awaiting the decision from the judges in their 54-kilogram fight.
And when the Bulgarian finally raised Im’s left arm, she had made a piece of South Korean boxing history. By reaching the semifinals, Im has secured at least a bronze medal, the country’s very first medal in women’s boxing.
There are no third-place bouts in Olympic boxing, and the semifinal losers will each become a bronze medal winner.
“I am so happy that I’ve helped boxing’s growth in Korea at least a little bit,” Im said after a 3-2 win, while sporting a pair of Olympic glasses. “I really hope that my medal will get more people interested in boxing and it will lead to better competition at home.”
With Arias in an attack mode from the opening bell, Im admitted she was intimidated.
“She is a powerful boxer,” Im said. “I had prepared many different strategies, and I had to concentrate really hard. Honestly, I was really scared.”
Im said she didn’t feel she had landed many clean punches on Arias.
“During matches, I try to read the faces of my coaches,” she said. “Today, they had some uncertain looks on their faces. I will have to be more decisive now.”
With the difficult match now behind her, Im gave herself another “first” in South Korean boxing record books.
“I became the first Korean woman to win a world youth title (in 2017). And it felt great to learn that I was the first to do it,” Im said. “To have another first to my name means a great deal.”
Im was gone after just one match at both the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. And now, she stands two wins away from an unlikely Olympic gold.
“Before tonight’s match, coaches said I would get a medal if I just won one more bout,” Im said. “And I said, ‘I will win three more matches’ for the gold medal. I am looking forward to the final.”
(Yonhap)
