"'I didn't have enough effort, I won't cry again.'" Storm sobbing after a disappointing bronze medal failure, Taekwondo Seo Kun-woo grows like that

Aug 10, 2024

South Korea's Seo Kun-woo lost 0-2 against Denmark Hurnich in the 80kg bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics held in Grand Palais, Paris, France on the 10th (Korea time). Coach Oh Hye-ri is consoling Seo Gun-woo. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.10/

I shed tears for a while. It was a tear of regret.

Seo Kun-woo (Korea National Sports University) unfortunately failed to win a medal. Seo Kun-woo lost 0-2 (2-158-11) to Denmark's Eddie Hurnick in the men's 80kg bronze medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Grand Palais in Paris, France on the 10th (Korea time). Seo Kun-woo tried to win a medal in his first Olympics, but unfortunately, he failed to achieve his goal. Seo Kun-woo, who became the first Korean athlete to compete in the men's 80kg class at the Olympics, even tried to win a medal while he was out, but he was frustrated at the last threshold. Korean Taekwondo, which previously won gold medals in men's 58kg class Park Tae-joon (Kyunghee University) and women's 57kg class Kim Yoo-jin (Ulsan Sports Council), failed to win gold medals on the same day.

Seo Kun-woo came down to the bronze medal match in the semifinals, unfortunately losing 1-2 (4-29-138-12) to Iran's Mehran Barkodari. The opponent was Hrynik, who came up with a 2-0 victory over Australia's Leon Seiranovic in the consolation match.

I was shaken at the beginning of the first round. He was allowed to kick the torso one after another. It was dragged 0-6 in 22 seconds. Seo Kun-woo recovered one point by subtracting the opponent's points. While they exchanged points, the score was even wider, allowing another body attack. Seo Kun-woo was aggressive, but he couldn't find a clue due to the physical difference. The video review allowed even the head attack, and the first round ended with a 2-15 defeat.

South Korea's Seo Kun-woo lost 0-2 against Denmark Hurnich in the 80kg bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics held in Grand Palais, Paris, France on the 10th (Korea time). Seo Kun-woo is disappointed. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.10/

The second round was also dragged 0-4 by giving up consecutive body kicks. Coach Oh Hye-ri applied for a video review of the head attack. It was not recognized. It allowed a torso attack again. Seo Kun-woo also chased 5-8 through aggressive attacks. Seo Kun-woo, who is at the end of the ground, went out in Dakgong mode. He allowed a head attack with 45 seconds left. The opponent requested a video review. Fortunately, it didn't fit. There was no score at 6-8. It was 7-11 by allowing an attack on a deduction point. It was not the last attack and was eventually defeated.

The first Olympics were a series of twists and turns. It was a crisis from the first round. Seo came from behind to beat Chile's Joaquin Churchill Martinez 2-1 (6-816-16 14-1) in the round of 16. In the first round, Seo Kun-woo struggled with the opponent's strong attack. He allowed a kick after turning, and eventually gave up the first round with a score of 6-8. The situation was not good in the second round, which was the end of the loss. He took the lead with a series of body attacks, but was pushed back 6-15 by allowing a series of face attacks following a rotating attack. The game seemed to end as it was, but Seo Kun-woo did not give up. He made a series of fierce kicks. Following the rotational attack, he succeeded in kicking his torso. There was a series of attacks with one second left. The match ended 14-16, but the video review found that the body kick was recognized as a rotational attack, and Sun Kun-woo added four points at a stroke. The second round concluded 16-16.

South Korea's Seo Kun-woo failed to advance to the final as he lost 1-2 against Iran's Barkodari in the 80kg Taekwondo semifinals at the Paris Olympics held in Grand Palais, Paris, France on the 9th (Korea time). Seo Kun-woo is disappointed. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.9/

In the case of a round tie, the winner will be determined in the order of the player with more points won by the rotation, the player with more points in the order of head-body-fist-deductible points, and the player with the most effective hitting of the electronic ball. The referee declared Martinez's victory. Then Seo Gun-woo complained to the referee, and coach Oh Hye-ri ran up to the mat and raised an objection. Coach Oh strongly protested for 10 seconds on the field between the referee and the headquarters seat.

In response, game officials gathered together to examine each movement and scene and review whether the decision was made properly in a tie. The result was a reversal. Seo Kun-woo's victory in the second round was recognized. While Martinez made one revolving attack, Seo Kun-woo made two. Due to an error in prioritization, this part was not accurately aggregated, and the error was eventually corrected through a review.

According to the World Taekwondo Federation (WT), there is no problem in regulation that the results have been completely reversed since the winner of the round was announced. If the operation is inexperienced, the results can be announced again within 30 minutes after the end.

WT started the set system from this tournament to induce more interesting games. Until the last Tokyo Games, the game was decided by cumulative points until the third round, and the player who scored two points first was recognized as the winner in the fourth round when the score was tied. From this competition, the player who takes the two rounds first will win by determining the outcome of each round. WT set the standard for tie in detail in accordance with the new regulations, and Seo Kun-woo revived accordingly.

South Korea's Seo Kun-woo failed to advance to the final as he lost 1-2 against Iran's Barkodari in the 80kg Taekwondo semifinals at the Paris Olympics held in Grand Palais, Paris, France on the 9th (Korea time). Seo Gun-woo is disappointed after losing. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.9/

Seo Kun-woo, who won the second round, showed off his overwhelming skills in the third round, winning 14-1 and succeeding in a dramatic come-from-behind victory. It was a come-from-behind victory made by coach Oh's base, who was familiar with WT's detailed regulations.

The quarterfinals were relatively easy. In a 2-0 (4-4 2-2) victory over Brazil's Enrique Fernandez. Both rounds ended in a tie, but they won earlier in the effective attack. Unfortunately, he lost in the semifinals and then lost in the bronze medal match.

After the game, Seo Kun-woo hugged the staff and cried for a long time. He said "I lost, but I really wanted to win first place in this weight class next time." Then "It was fun, even though there were a lot of spectators and we lost during the Paris Olympics. I thought I wanted to play again. I played happily, but the last one showed a disappointing result. Next time, I hope it will be fun even if I run happily and go back."

Still, it was a competition where I gained a lot. He gave the motto "The pain is greater when a high school teacher does not get what he wants than the pain when he tries." I thought I worked really hard, but I found out that my efforts were lacking through this competition. I thought I should work harder." Seo Kun-woo said "The goal is to become a better player in this weight class because I've heard all the bad things in this weight class."

South Korea's Seo Kun-woo lost 0-2 against Denmark Hurnich in the 80kg bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics held in Grand Palais, Paris, France on the 10th (Korea time). Seo Gun-woo and Hurnich are having mixed feelings. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.10/

He told coach Oh "There was a lot of work in preparation, and we tried to match it well together. We really hit it off during today's match. In the first game, I ran out to the stadium, and the professor worked really hard, but I'm sorry that I didn't do well." Seo said, `I cried a lot after the first international competition. I should never cry again, but I shed tears this time. Next time, I will prepare well and do it without crying." The first Olympics failed unfortunately, but Seo Kun-woo gained and learned a lot from this Olympics. Through such failure, one thing is Seo Geon-woo, who has grown up even more.

vanbasten@sportschosun.com