There is no 'regret' for Choi Jeong-man, who won the 銀 in his first appearance at the Paralympics

Sep 03, 2024

Choi Jeong-man harvested a silver medal in the men's singles (WH1) at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Choi Jung-man "We played without regret"I was very happy to win the silver medal. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

"We played without any regrets"

'There is no one to feel good about losing.' The gold medal that was just around the corner is gone. It would have been enough to express it with regret.

However, Choi Jung-man (45, Daegu Urban Development Corporation) smiled broadly. It was a fight that poured out all of his strength and skills. Still, if you lose, you have no choice but to accept defeat. Choi Jung-man said. "I really played with no regrets." A game where you throw everything away is a relief even if you lose. That's why Choi Jeong's face was younger than disappointed.

Choi Jeong-man, a member of the badminton national team, made a valuable achievement of a silver medal in his first Paralympic Games. Choi Jeong-man was completely defeated by China's Qu Tzmo 0-2 (3-217-21) in the men's singles (sports grade WH1) final at the 2024 Paris Paralympics at the Port de Las Chappelle Stadium in Paris, France, early on the 3rd (Korea time).

China's 23-year-old Shin Seong Quizmo, whom Choi Jeong-man faced, was a powerful enemy. He is a new star from China who won two gold medals (single, doubles) at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics at the age of just 20. He also won two gold medals in men's singles and doubles at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games. Prior to this, in 2019, at the age of 18, he was selected as the 'Men's Para Athlete of the Year' by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). He is the number one who walked in the flower garden of the elite course. It is a different type from Choi Jeong-man, who came up step by step from the bottom.

Choi Jung-man had already made Quizmo his 'virtual final opponent' even before the Paris Paralympics. Choi Jeong-man's goal for the Paris Paralympics is to go beyond Chinese athletes in the introduction booklet created by the Korean Sports Association for the Disabled. Then it's the winner!It says ' The term 'Chinese player' mentioned here means Qi Tzu Mo.

He must have imagined the moment of victory with countless imaginary confrontations in his head. But the actual game wasn't as good as I thought. Quintzmo's skill was unmistakable. In the end, he lost 26 minutes into the game.

However, Choi Jeong is not the only one who did it roughly. He said "I have no regrets. I really played with no regrets." Then "Of course, there will be some regrets, but there are things I can't do about it on my own. I have no regrets because I did my best,' he said.

Choi Jung-man really poured out everything he had. It's just that it hasn't reached Quizmo yet. Knowing that, Choi Jung-man gave a congratulatory handshake to Quizmo with a relieved look after the game. It was `Loser's Dignity.'

Still, Choi Jung-man achieved 'Dream' through this competition. He said "My original goal was to reach the Paralympic finalI am indescribably pleased with ". I couldn't participate in the Tokyo Olympics, but I'm glad that I won my first Paralympic medal in Paris. This fact is more valuable to me than anything else."

Now Choi plans to enjoy Paris and the Paralympics. It's because I've finished the game schedule. He said "It's a dreamy stage. It's for a very short time, but I want to enjoy this feeling.' Then he laughed out loud and said, `I want to sleep well for now. I don't know if it's going to work, but I left, leaving the words `. There was only one badminton racket when I came, but when I went, the silver medal, a sign of glory, was with Choi Jung-man.

wman@sportschosun.com