Seo Kun-woo, who wrote the history of 'Tokyo No Gold' and 'Men's 80kg class' in order to humiliate Korean Taekwondo
Jul 07, 2024
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It was the smile of national taekwondo team coach Lee Chang-gun. Korean taekwondo suffered the humiliation of 'No Gold' at the Tokyo Olympics just before. The Tokyo Games were the first time Korea failed to win a gold medal after taekwondo first became an official Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Games. Six people participated, the most ever, but only one silver and two bronze medals were harvested.
The top task for Korean taekwondo, which will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, is 'Restoration of Honour'. He is aiming for at least one gold medal. But the situation is not very good. International taekwondo is increasingly levelling up. It's not strange who wins and who fails to qualify. On top of that, South Korea will send Park Tae-joon (Kyung Hee University, men's 58kg class), Seo Gun-woo (Korean sports team, men's 80kg class), Kim Yoo-jin (Ulsan Sports Council, women's 57kg class), Lee Da-bin (Seoul City Hall, women's 67kg class), and four athletes to the Olympics. It is the first time for Korean taekwondo to send fewer than four athletes to the Olympics since the 2012 London Games. Even so, the athlete with Olympic experience won a silver medal at the Tokyo GamesBean is the only one.
While Lee Da-bin and Park Tae-joon are mentioned as strong candidates for the gold medal, the dark horse is by far Seo Geon-woo. Seo Kun-woo has already written a new history. This is the first time for Korean Taekwondo to compete in the Olympics in this weight class. While I'm at it, I'm trying to win a medal. Manager Lee said, `All the other players are working hard, but Seo Kun-woo trains a lot. It's full of energy. Although his opponent is ahead of him in physical conditions and power, Seo Kun-woo praised him, saying, "He has the physical strength to push him from start to finish."
There is enough competitiveness. At the World Taekwondo Federation (WT) World Grand Prix Final held in December last year, he beat Olympic No. 1 Simone Alessio of Italy, 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Salih El-Sharabati of Jordan, and bronze medalist Safe Aisa of Egypt. He is also ranked fourth in the Olympics. If Salih's wall, which is likely to meet in the quarterfinals, is crossed well, it is evaluated that the gold medal can be won depending on the condition of the day. Seo Kun-woo is currently focusing on weights to avoid being pushed out of power. I had a hard time adjusting in the beginning, but it's getting better. His strength has been added to his strength.
Seo Kun-woo, who attended his father's Taekwondo studio at the age of eight and naturally developed a relationship with Taekwondo, grew up to be a "heavyweight hope". His SNS profile reads 'Please...It says '. That's how desperate I am for an Olympic medal. Seo's father made Seo Kun-woo, a Taekwondo player, but the evaluation is still cold. Seo Kun-woo is sweating hard for his father's recognition and for the men's 80kg gold medal, which is not in Korean Taekwondo history.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
