'Overachieve goal' Korean team. Chung Jin-wan, Chairman of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled "I am deeply touched."Promote the expansion of strategic sports and daily sports in the future."

Sep 09, 2024

Jeong Jin-wan, chairman of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled, answers reporters' questions at a press conference on the settlement of accounts at the Paris Paralympics on the night of the 8th (Korea time). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Jeong Jin-wan, president of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled, Bae Dong-hyun, head of the Korean athletes' team, and Park Jong-chul, general manager of the Korean national team (from left), answer questions from reporters at a press conference on the settlement of accounts of the Paris Paralympics held at the main press center on the night of the 8th (Korea time). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

"It was a very touching competition. When I return to Korea, I will create an environment where more disabled people can come out and exercise."

The South Korean team, led by Bae Dong-hyun, ended the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Thanks to the good performance of shooting, table tennis, and boccia, the South Korean team won six gold medals, exceeding the previously expected five gold medals, showing even more advanced skills than at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. At the Tokyo Games, South Korea won only two gold medals.

Chung Jin-wan, president of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled, praised the Korean team for its good performance, saying, `I am proud of the athletes who touched me a lot.'

"It was a competition where all the players did their best, regardless of whether they achieved the goal or not," Chairman Chung said at a financial conference held at the Auberville Main Media Center (MPC) near Paris on the night of the 9th (Korea time), adding, "However, he left a clear homework on what to prepare for the future." We will prepare step by step from now on."

The Korean team won six gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 14 bronze medals to rank 22nd in the overall ranking. He achieved more than 120% of the five gold medals he set as his goal before the opening. Three gold medals were won by two-time champion Park Jin-ho and Cho Jung-du in shooting. They also added one silver and two bronze medals, respectively. He also swept two gold medals, three silver medals, and nine bronze medals in table tennis. In Boccia, Jung Ho-won won the men's individual gold medal, achieving the feat of '10 consecutive gold medals in the Boccia Paralympics'.

Jeong Jin-wan, chairman of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled (far left), answers reporters' questions at the Paris Paralympics settlement press conference held on the night of the 8th (Korea time). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Chung Jin-wan, a former gold medalist in shooting at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, explained that since the 1980s, the Paralympic shooting team has continuously interacted with the non-disabled shooting team to create synergistic effects. Lee Eun-chul, a gold medalist in shooting at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, participated as the leader of the Paralympic shooting team in the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games and helped me win the gold medal.

"Even now, shooting is holding an integrated competition in which both disabled and non-disabled athletes compete together."The shooting team at the Paris Paralympics also trained with non-disabled professional shooters. These exchange activities seem to have had a good impact on the disabled and non-disabled national teams."

However, while shooting and table tennis performed better than expected, other sports performed relatively poorly. Of the 17 sports that have won medals, only six have won medals. The phenomenon of medal bias in some sports is a task for the disabled sports community to solve.

Chairman Chung responded, `In the run-up to this competition, canoeing and triathlon did not even have a disabled federation. In the future, we will make efforts to help the disabled perform well in various events. "We cannot focus on all events considering realistic situations such as training environments, facilities, and underlying problems." "We will strive to find suitable athletes for archery, which has recently been underperforming, and climbing, which is likely to be adopted as an official event for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games," he said.

Park Jong-chul, head of the Icheon Paralympic Village and general manager of the Korean team for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, answers reporters' questions at a press conference on the settlement of accounts at the Paris Paralympic Games on the night of the 8th (Korea time). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

In this regard, Park Jong-cheol, president and general manager of Icheon Athletes' Village, said "The competitiveness of basic sports such as swimming and track and field is declining, and research services related to basic development projects are also being conducted."If we go through the preparation process, we will be able to increase our performance from the next competition."

It is also a big task left by this competition to raise public interest in sports for the disabled and Paralympics. The South Korean team impressed the audience with their fighting spirit, but most of the games were not broadcast live, so they did not receive public attention.

The message from all participants at the Paris Paralympics was 'Open the door and come out' It didn't matter whether he won a medal or not. Kim Hwang-tae of the Triathlon said "I hope other disabled people will be encouraged to see me. Come out and exercise."

In response, Chairman Chung said, `The disabled gain confidence by seeing the disabled athletes and come out to the world. I also dreamed of becoming a disabled athlete after watching a wheelchair basketball broadcast at the hospital (after the traffic accident)," he said. "The Paralympic broadcast can bring hope to many disabled people and bring about improved awareness of non-disabled people, which can be expected to have a social integration effect."I hope more Paralympic games will be broadcast."

"Fortunately, there has been a recent movement in the political circle to legislate to guarantee the right to watch sports for the disabled."If the Paralympics are designated as a 'public interest competition' like the Olympics or the World Cup, and broadcasters are obligated to broadcast, we will be able to take a step forward in a 'society of living together" he stressed."

wman@sportschosun.com