'The path I walk is a new history'Taekwon Ace Ju Jung-hoon wins his first Paralympic 銅 in a row

Sep 01, 2024

Jeong Jin-wan, president of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled (far right), shakes hands after awarding a bronze medal to Joo Jung-hoon, who won the bronze medal in the men's 80kg sports grade K44 at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.Provided by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Joo Jung-hoon won a bronze medal in the men's 80kg sports grade K44 at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Joo Jung-hoon kisses the bronze medal at the award ceremony after winning the bronze medal match at Grand Palais in Paris, France, early on the 1st (Korea time). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Courtesy of the Korean Sports Council for the Disabled

Joo Jung-hoon (30, SK Ecoplanet), the leading star of Korean Taekwondo for the disabled and the first time in the history of the Paralympic medal, made another milestone. He made a remarkable feat of winning bronze medals for the second time in a row at the Paralympics. Joo Jung-hoon has rewritten the history of Korean Taekwondo for the disabled.

Joo Jung-hoon beat Kazakhstan's Nulan Dombayev 7-1 to win the bronze medal in the men's 80kg sports grade K44 bronze medal match at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in Grand Palais, Paris, France, early on the 1st (Korea time). As a result, Joo Jung-hoon won his second consecutive Paralympic bronze medal following the 20202 Tokyo Paralympic Games. During the Tokyo Games, Joo Jung-hoon had already written one history. It was Korea's first Paralympic medal in taekwondo for the disabled. This time, he set another record of winning two consecutive medals.

Courtesy of the Korean Sports Council for the Disabled

In the bronze medal match on the day, Joo Jung-hoon exchanged one warning each early in the game to face 1-1. But he soon took the lead. The left foot kick hit Dombayev's torso to make it 3-1. Following the momentum, he succeeded in attacking his torso again 3 minutes and 10 seconds before the end. It was 5-1 up. Joo Jung-hoon's sharp kicks continued. One minute and 50 seconds ago, he put his foot in Dombayev's torso again with a counterattack. The score was 7-1, and the game was soon over. Joo Jung-hoon will stand at the third high of the podium.

If the concentration in the bronze medal match came out in the semifinals earlier, it would have been worth looking at the final. Joo Jung-hoon allowed a upset loss in the semifinals earlier. He met Mexico's Luis Mario Nahera and led 7-0 early in the game.

This is the moment when expectations for the final grew. But the opponent didn't give up. He kept on attacking Joo Jung-hoon. The seven-point gap quickly narrowed. In the end, the game continued with overtime, and Joo Jung-hoon lost 8-10.

Joo Jung-hoon won a bronze medal in the men's 80kg sports grade K44 at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Coach Kim Ye-soo and Joo Jung-hoon cheer with the Korean national flag after winning the bronze medal match at Grand Palais in Paris, France, early on the 1st (Korea time). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Joo Jung-hoon "I've always imagined standing at the highest point, thinking that I'm always in first place. Although I have never achieved what I imagined for eight years, I still feel so grateful to win a valuable bronze medal. " Then "I was pelted in the knee while playing against a Serbian player in the first round. My bones and muscles hurt so much that I kept getting annoyed when I played later. I can't even raise my legs well now," he said, adding that he played with injuries.

Joo Jung-hoon went on to ask 'Didn't you want to give up the bronze medal match because of the injury?'Honestly, I wanted to give up about 99 times. But next to him, the coach (Kim Ye-soo) 'Don't say weak things. It's a chance not to come back to life. He kept saying, 'Wake up' next to me.'"I sat alone in the bathroom and organized my mind. That's how I never thought of losing the bronze medal match"and revealed the secret to victory.

With his second Paralympic medal around his neck, Joo plans to meet his family with a light heart. In particular, he will visit his deceased grandmother's grave and raise medals and beef after carrying a burden throughout his life due to an accident that left him with a disability as a child. Joo Jung-hoon seriously injured his right hand when he was 2 years old while staying at his grandmother's house in rural Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do.

The late grandmother Kim Bun-sun, who took care of young Joo Jung-hoon instead of her parents who were busy working together, lived with tears for the rest of her life after the accident. I couldn't escape my guilt by always saying to my son and wife and grandchildren, 'I'm a sinner'. In fact, Joo Jung-hoon is an accident that he doesn't even remember.

Courtesy of the Korean Sports Council for the Disabled

Joo Jung-hoon hoped to show his grandmother how he succeeded as a taekwondo athlete and won a Paralympic medal. It was in the hope that the grandmother would relieve the guilt by looking at her well-grown grandson.

However, Joo Jung-hoon's wish to win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 did not come true. The grandmother with dementia could not recognize Joo Jung-hoon. And a few months later, he died quietly in a nursing home. Joo Jung-hoon couldn't keep up with his death. I only heard that my maternal grandmother called her grandchild's name at the moment of her death.

Still, Joo hopes to show her grandmother a medal. After the Paris Paralympics, I plan to buy a lot of beef, which my grandmother usually liked, with a medal. My maternal grandmother may already know. That his grandson left a great mark on the history of the Korean Paralympic Games. Joo Jung-hoon is Korea's first Paralympic taekwondo medalist and second consecutive Olympic medalist.

wman@sportschosun.com