→Tottenham Captain Son Heung-min selected the athlete who shone this year in 2024 → 1st place for 8 consecutive years...Lee Kang-in, 2nd place for the 2nd consecutive year
Dec 16, 2024
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As a result of Gallup Korea asking 1,741 people aged 13 or older (excluding Jeju) from the 11th to the 25th of last month (free response) up to two sports players who shone the most in Korea this year, Son Heung-min ranked first with 70.7% of the support.
Son Heung-min is a sign of Tottenham in the English Premier League as well as Korean soccer. He was the top scorer in the EPL in the 2021-2022 season and scored in double digits for eight consecutive seasons from the 2016-2017 season to the last season. In the match against Southampton on the 16th (Korea time), he scored one goal and two assists to achieve Tottenham's most assists (68) ever.
The second place is Lee Kang-in (12.7%) who moved from Spain's Real Mallorca to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France last summer and solidified his position. He won the Golden Ball (MVP) by leading Korea to the runner-up at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and was also included in the AFC Youth Player of the Year Award and the Copa Trophy candidate '21 U-21 Ballon d'Or', making his name known as the world's top prospect. Lee Kang-in also ranked second after Son Heung-min last year.
Third place is Shin Yoo-bin (10.4%) who won the mixed doubles table tennis and women's team bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He drew attention with his 'table tennis prodigy' from an entertainment program he appeared in 2009 when he was 5 years old, and was selected as the youngest national team member (14 years and 11 months old) in 2019. Last year's Hangzhou Asian Games set a record of winning women's table tennis doubles gold medal for the first time in 21 years, and this year's Olympics set a record of winning women's table tennis multi-medal for the first time in 32 years. It has emerged as a star in the food and beverage advertising industry with its unique 'Eating Show', and its steady donation is also a hot topic.
In fourth place is Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance, 8.2%) who won the women's singles gold medal in badminton for the first time in 28 years at the Paris Olympics. Immediately after winning the championship, he publicly raised issues with the association's player management, drawing more attention, and in August, he was considered the best performer at the Paris Olympics in a Gallup Korea survey.
Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall, 8.0%·5th), Bayern Munich, Germany, 'Monster Center Bag' Kim Min-jae (6.9%·6th), Paris Olympic shooting silver medalist Kim Ye-ji (5.3%·7th), Kim Woo-jin (5.2%·8th), Premier Leaguer Hwang Hee-chan (2.9%·9th), Premier Leaguer Hwang Hee-chan (2.9%·9th), 'Volleyball Empress' Kim Yeon-koung (Heungguk Life, 2.5%, 10th).
Other players who answered more than 1.0% were Lee Jung-hoo (baseball, 2.4%), Ryu Hyun-jin (baseball, 2.4%), Kim Do-young (baseball, 2.0%), Lim Si-hyun (Archery, 1.5%), Kim Ha-sung (baseball, 1.1%), and Yang Min-hyuk (football, 1.0%). If it expands to the top 20, it is Choo Shin-soo (baseball), Kim Je-deok (Archery, 0.9%), Kim Yu-na (figure), Yang Hyun-jong (baseball), Park Se-ri (golf), and Faker-Lee Sang-hyuk (e-sports, 0.8%).
For five years from 2007 to 2011, Kim Yu-na, Park Ji-sung, and Park Tae-hwan changed their positions and dominated the 1st to 3rd place in the 'Player of the Year', especially 'Figure Legend' Kim Yu-na ranked in the 5th place for 11 consecutive years until 2017, even though she retired from active duty after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Park Ji-sung, the first Korean Premier Leaguer, was also loved as much as he was after retirement in 2014.
Son Heung-min is now an unrivaled being that surpasses them. It first appeared in the rankings in 2013 at No. 8, ranking fifth in 2014, No. 1 in 2015, No. 2 in 2016, and No. 1 in 2017-2024 for 11 consecutive years. Lee Kang-in is likely to be the soccer star behind Park Ji-sung and Son Heung-min.
Each year, the top 10 was divided by soccer and baseball players, the two most popular events. There are four soccer players this year, but none of them are baseball players. This year, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) was a hit, opening the era of 10 million spectators for the first time ever, but baseball was not an official event at the Paris Olympics, and the performance of overseas players was not noticeable.
Table tennis, badminton, fencing, shooting, archery, and volleyball each included one player, all of whom played in the Paris Olympics finals except volleyball. World competitions such as the Olympics and national competitions played an important role in the top ranks of athletes in sports other than soccer and baseball.
Jang Mi-ran (weight gold) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Yang Hak-seon (golden vault) and Son Yeon-jae (ranked fifth in rhythmic gymnastics, the best record for Asian athletes ever), Park Sang-young (golden fencing) at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Kim Eun-jung (silver curling) at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Ansan, Kim Je-deok (golden archery), and Kim Yeon-koung (fourth in volleyball) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
newsme@sportschosun.com
