South Korean taekwondo athletes bound for the Paris Olympics pose for photos at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, before departing for France on July 25, 2024. From left: Seo Geon-woo, Lee Da-bin, Park Tae-joon and Kim Yu-jin. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean taekwondo team departed for Paris for the Olympics on Thursday, driven to bring home a gold medal three years after the country was shut out in its national martial art.
South Korea will send four athletes to the taekwondo competition, which begins Aug. 7 at Grand Palais in the French capital: Park Tae-joon in the men’s -58 kilograms, Seo Geon-woo in the men’s -80 kilograms, Kim Yu-jin in the women’s -57 kilograms and Lee Da-bin in the women’s +67 kilograms.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, South Korea settled for one silver and two bronze medals, the first time the birthplace of taekwondo failed to win a gold since the sport became a medal event in 2000.
Lee was the lone silver medalist in Tokyo, and she said she is ready to take another step forward this time.
“I just missed out on the gold medal in Tokyo and I want to feel the joy of winning the title at this competition,” Lee told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. “I am feeling confident.”
Park will be the first of the four South Koreans to take action in Paris. After beating the 2021 bronze medalist Jang Jun in the national team trials, Park will try to set the tone for the rest of his team.
“I am ready to go,” Park said. “Since I am the first one on the team to compete for a medal, I will try to start things off with a gold.”
While South Korean officials see Park as a legitimate gold medal threat, the 20-year-old has not been getting much love from overseas — this despite the fact that Park defeated the 2021 Olympic gold and silver medalists, Vito Dell’Aquila of Italy and Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi of Tunisia, as a teenager in October 2022.
“I don’t really care about what others say. At the Olympics, it’s going to be about battling against myself,” Park said. “I’ve worked hard to this point and I will do the best I can to win the gold medal.”
Park said he has carefully studied and analyzed his potential opponents in Paris and added, “Though I can’t get into specifics, I’ve prepared tactics that could catch opponents off guard.”
Men’s coach Jeong Eul-jin said in terms of physical skills, very little separates athletes who have qualified for the Olympics.
“The color of medals will come down to how these athletes feel on the day of their competition and how strong they are mentally,” Jeong said. “Park Tae-joon doesn’t get fazed by big moments. He should do well.”
(Yonhap)
