Connect with us

SPORTS

Challenges and Expectations for the Korean National Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Published

on

By


Women’s national archery team. /News1 DB ⓒ News1 Reporter Lee Dong-hae
(Seoul = News 1) Reporter Kwon Hyuk-jun = The 2024 Paris Olympics are just one month away. The Korean team has always placed within the top 10th overall score since its 10th place finish at the 1984 LA Olympics, but this tournament has a somewhat different atmosphere.

Lee Ki-heung, president of the Korea Sports Council, already predicted the expected number of gold medals at last year’s Paris Olympics to be around 5 to 6, and this goal has not changed until now. This means that the people watching and cheering must also lower their realistic expectations.

First of all, the number of challengers decreased. It seems unlikely that the maximum number of athletes to be dispatched will exceed 150. This is because most ball sports, such as soccer, volleyball, and basketball, did not secure participation rights. Among the team ball sports, the only one that can be seen at the Paris Olympics is women’s handball.

The number of players under 150 is the lowest ever since 50 players were sent to the Montreal Games in 1976. After Korea did not participate in the 1980 Moscow Games, 210 people participated in the 1984 LA Games and 477 people participated in the 1988 Seoul Games. Afterwards, a team of 200 to 300 athletes was consistently dispatched until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but this time the size was significantly reduced.

The status of Korean sports on the international stage had already fallen significantly at the last Tokyo Games. At the time, it ranked 16th overall (6 gold, 4 silver, 10 bronze), falling out of the top 10 in the overall rankings for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympics (8 gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze).

Considering the size of the athletes and the prospects for each sport, there is a high possibility that the Paris Olympics will be similar to or even worse than the Tokyo Olympics. In the worst case, there is even a gloomy outlook that the country may be pushed out of the top 20 overall.

The Korean men’s saber team’s Oh Sang-wook (from left), Do Gyeong-dong, Koo Bon-gil, and Park Sang-won are taking a commemorative photo at the ‘2024 Paris Olympics National Fencing Team Media Day’ held at the Jincheon National Athlete’s Village in North Chungcheong Province on the 27th. 2024.5.27/News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Lee Dong-hae
First of all, the sports we are looking forward to in the current situation are archery and fencing. Archery is still a strong sport, winning four out of six gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, and fencing is also showing off its high international competitiveness, with men’s saber and women’s epee winning gold medals in Tokyo.

However, it is also true that because all the attention and expectations are concentrated, athletes in the sport feel quite a bit of pressure.

In fact, in the case of the archery team, after confirming the Olympic participation list, they showed a sensitive reaction by refusing to engage in any media activities, such as press conferences, when their performance was somewhat poor at international competitions. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

In fencing, the Korea Sports Council is also expecting at least two gold medals, but in its own evaluation, it is realistic to add silver and bronze medals to one gold medal.

The Olympics are starting with lower expectations than previous years, but on the contrary, this means that those who are considered one of the few gold medal candidates have no choice but to shoulder a greater burden.

National swimmer Kim Woo-min (left) and Hwang Sun-woo are being interviewed at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics national swimming team media day held at the Jincheon National Athletes’ Village Swimming Center in Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do on the afternoon of the 18th. 2024.6.18/News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Park Jeong-ho
Still, you can’t ‘go in’ before you even start. The athletes have put in their best effort to prepare for the Paris Olympics and are confident that they can achieve results that exceed expectations. Rather, a crisis can be turned into an opportunity.

For some sports, it is okay to have expectations that go beyond simple confidence. Starting with Ahn Se-young in the women’s badminton singles, Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min in swimming, and Park Tae-jun in the men’s 58kg taekwondo class, they can aim for at least a medal, or even a gold medal depending on the situation.

Kim Ye-ji in shooting and modern pentathlon men’s relay (Jeon Woong-tae and Seo Chang-wan) are also people with potential.

If 5-6 gold medals are won as initially expected, it is virtually difficult to enter the top 10 overall, but if additional gold medals are obtained in events other than archery and fencing, entering the top 10 is not an impossible goal.

2024-06-24 21:02:54
#Realistic #goal #gold #medals.. #Korean #sports #overcome #crisis올림픽 #D30 #②

READ FULL STORY HERE>>...CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SPORTS

Italian Judokas Shine at European Cup Junior: Gaia Stella and Cristiano Mincinesi Lead the Way with Gold Medals

Published

on

By


It is tsunami-Italy in Prague that, on the second day of the European Cup Junior, won the gold medal with Cristiano Mincinesi in the 90 kg, Gaia Stella in the 52 kg, the silver medal with Rebecca Valeriani in the 48 kg, the bronze medal with Henry Owusu Asare Owusu in the 90 kg, Ilaria Finestrone in the 52 kg, Giulia Carna and Michela Terranova in the 57 kg.

The total of the day is seven medals, plus two from yesterday it gets to nine and for the medal table by nation it can go well like this: Italy is first with three golds, two silvers, four bronzes. Brazil has taken ten medals, but is behind because it has only two golds.

“I’m happy with this medal and satisfied with the race,” she said. Gaia Stella– It was a very challenging race and this result means a lot to me. I thank my family, my coaches and my gym mates.”

“After the gold at the absolute, I came here to win, like in every race. – she said Giulia Carnà– I don’t want to appeal to the referees’ interpretations, I only make mea culpa for my mistakes. A new four-year period and new goals begins. I thank the Fiamme Oro, my teachers Marco and Fabrizio Fantauzzo. Thanks to the entire Judo virtus Fantauzzo company and to my family who follows me from home”.

“Despite the lost match, I am very happy with my race for being able to get back up and win all the repechage matches, arriving at the medal. -he said Henry Owusu Asare Owusu– I would really like to thank my president Lucia Rubini, my teacher Luigi Crescini, my coach Luca Ravanetti who followed me today, the Federal technicians present, all my teammates of KSDK Parma for the support they gave me today by cheering from home and every day during training and, finally, my class 5B and Salvatore Robuschi who supports my path”.

“Even though today I wasn’t in top form,” he said instead Michela Terranova– I think I had a good race, bringing home a wealth of experience and motivation. With today’s bronze, I win my third medal in the junior world judo tour. I thank all the coaches of the national team for supporting me, but above all I thank the Carabinieri, my commander Luigi Guido and my coach Giovanni Carollo, who unfortunately is not here with me… but from afar he helped me a lot. Focus on the next ones”. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“Superlative performance by our Azzurri who were the protagonists of the second day of competition. Above all, Mincinesi and Stella impressed with determination, tenacity and great judo, making the Mameli Anthem resound here in Prague. – this is the comment of the three Azzurri coaches, Vito Zocco, Salvatore Ferro, Luca Ravanetti– Valeriani’s performance was no less impressive, only stopped by the English athlete in the final at the end of a balanced and hard-fought match. Also of great value were the four bronze medals won by Finestrone, Carná, Terranova and Owusu who strongly wanted to reach the podium after having played convincing tests. There is a bitter taste in the mouth for the medal lost to Sciacovelli.

With today’s seven medals, net of some very questionable refereeing decisions, the young Azzurri have projected our national team to the top of the medal table and give us hope for future commitments”.

>>> SECOND DAY RESULTS

2024-07-07 17:10:00
#medals #Prague #Gold #Stella #Mincinesi #Italy #U21 #tsunami

READ FULL STORY HERE>>...CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Continue Reading

SPORTS

Scaloni’s dilemmas: Messi’s return, Di Maria’s chance, and the semi-final against Canada

Published

on

By


07/07/2024 14:49hs.

The match with Ecuador is now behind us and the semi-final against Canada is on the horizon. next Tuesday at 9pm at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. And Lionel Scaloni is already preparing the team and is considering making some changes to the line-up. And that will be put to the test this afternoon/evening, when Scaloneta trains at the Red Bull Training Center.

One thing is clear: Lionel Messi is much better from his right adductor problemObviously he won’t be in top form, he’s not 100 percent, but he will be more relaxed, he will have more ease in his movements. He spent the last training sessions with less pain and was able to work alongside his teammates. So, with the number 10 as a flag bearer and confirmed – with Ecuador it was in doubt until 24 hours before the match – the National Team now has one less focus of attention and also the peace of mind that the captain will be back in charge of the team, as in every match since the 2006 World Cup.

Scaloni has some footballing issues to resolve. And perhaps the one that steals the spotlight is what will happen with Ángel Di María. Fideo did not play a single minute in the quarter-finals against Ecuador, he watched the penalties from the bench and, luckily, the team went through and the Rosario native will have two more games with the National Team jersey. “Ángel was always warming up and could be an option. Who doesn’t like to see him? I’m the first, but…,” said Lio DT in the press conference.

Now Di Maria has a chance to start against Canada on Tuesday. In his debut he started as a right-wing midfielder in a 4-4-2 and had some good moments. The other match in which he started was against Peru, the day that Scaloni decided to rotate the team, while against Chile he came on in the second half. Angelito has already announced that he will retire after the Copa América, that he is leaving the National Team…. Given the characteristics of the rival, Scaloni is considering Fideo playing instead of Nico González. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

With eight players confirmed (Dibu, Molina, Cuti, Lisandro, Tagliafico, De Paul, Alexis and Messi), The coach will have to finish defining the 11 with the three positions that were always in doubt in this Copa América: the left-wing midfielder, the centre-forward and the third striker. The third midfielder is something that is being reviewed: although the position is Enzo Fernandez (he won it at the World Cup), he didn’t have good matches since he returned from the inguinal hernia operation and that’s why Leandro Paredes and Gio Lo Celso They are also fighting for that position. Scaloni is between confirming the World Cup midfield or dealing with the current situation.

The centre forward position is always in the spotlight due to the excellent levels of Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez. So far they have started two games each: the first two for Manchester City and the last two for Inter. Julián scored one goal and Lautaro scored four. The uncertainty will continue until the day of the match, but the coach is considering putting in an attack similar to that of the debut against Canada, with Messi, Julián and Di María…

The probable formation

The 11 against Canada and the three doubts: Drawn by Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cuti Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez or Paredes/Lo Celso; Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez or Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Gonzalez or Angel Di Maria.

2024-07-07 17:49:56
#probable #formation #National #Team #Canada #Messi #Olé

READ FULL STORY HERE>>...CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Continue Reading

SPORTS

LeBron James Set to Make History with Third Olympic Appearance

Published

on

By


He competed in his first Olympics at age 19. He returned twice in his 20s. Now, just months shy of his 40th birthday, he’s about to get another taste.

LeBron James has nothing left to prove. If he lines up with the Americans once again, it’s simply because he wants to.

James is set to become the first U.S. men’s basketball player to compete in the Olympics in three decades.

The United States camp is in motion in Nevada, the starting point where they are ultimately looking for a fifth gold medal in a row.

“I’m still playing at a high level,” said James, who has two gold medals and a bronze to his name. “I still enjoy playing basketball and I have a great relationship with Team USA. It was important for me to join the guys this summer.”

James can notably reconnect with two of his former coaches, Erik Spoelstra and Tyronn Lue. He won an NBA title with each of them at the helm.

“It’s amazing how intense he is in practice,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “I asked Ty and ‘Spo’ if that’s normal, and they said he’s like that every drill, every day.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

James won bronze in 2004 in Athens and also in 2006 at the World Championship (now the World Cup) in Japan.

Since then, the Americans have always won gold when he has donned their jersey, with a record of 36-0.

“Our only goal is to win gold,” James said.

The Americans will face Canada in a pre-season match on Wednesday.

2024-07-07 14:22:00
#Basketball #LeBron #James #motivated #eve #fourth #appearance #Olympic #Games

READ FULL STORY HERE>>...CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Continue Reading

Trending

error: Content is protected !!