Korean athletes vowed to lead the way at the team signing ceremony held 11 days before the start of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Korea Olympic Committee held the signing ceremony for the Korean team for the 19th Hangzhou Summer Asian Games at the Olympic Hall in Bangdong Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul on Wednesday.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun, KOC President Lee Ki-heung, Korean National Team President Choi Yoon, National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Chairman Hong Ik-pyo, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Yoo Seung-min and other dignitaries, officials from 17 city sports federations and athletes from each sport attended the ceremony to encourage and boost the morale of the upcoming Taekwondo warriors.
“The national athletes overcame the difficulties of having the Games postponed for a year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) with their strong will and passion to impress the people,” said President Yoon Seok-yeol in an encouraging speech read by Minister Park, adding, “I will run with the people and support the athletes with my heart.”
“We will do our best to repay the people’s passionate support,” said Choi Yoon, president of the Korea Rugby Association and owner of OK Financial Group, a men’s professional volleyball team. 바카라사이트 “We hope that the sweat of the athletes through this tournament will not be defined only by the color of the medals, and we ask the public to enjoy their unremorseful efforts.”
“I hope that unpopular and unrecognized sports will be widely recognized at the Games, and that it will be an opportunity for Korea to move beyond being a sports powerhouse to becoming a sports developed country.”
Park In-bee, the women’s golf gold medalist at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, who is running as a Korean candidate for the IOC Athlete Commissioner vote during next year’s Paris Games, said in a video, “The national athletes must have struggled a lot to prepare for the Asian Games, but I will support them diligently and hope for a good result.”
Athletes Ahn Se-young (badminton) and Kim Woo-min (swimming) received gifts from the athletes, while Choi Yoon, the president of the Korean National Team, waved the Korean flag.
As the stage was cramped, photographers took the stage for a group photo with the athletes, who were seated in the audience.
The Hangzhou Asian Games will kick off on Sept. 23 and conclude on Oct. 8 in six cities, including Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province.
Korea has sent a record-breaking 1,140 athletes to compete in 39 events, aiming to win up to 50 gold medals and finish third in the overall standings.
If Korea can reduce the gold medal gap with Japan, which widened significantly between the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, to less than 10 this time, it will be able to compete with Japan again at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Koo Bon-gil (fencing) and Kim Seo-young (swimming) were selected as the opening ceremony flag bearers and captains of the Korean team.
Koo will be looking to win his fourth consecutive men’s sabre individual title, while Kim will be looking to break the record for the most Asian Games gold medals won by a Korean athlete (seven).
Kim Seo-young, the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang women’s 200-meter individual medley champion, will be looking for her second consecutive medal.
After the final ceremony, the athletes will depart for China in order according to their event schedule, with the main squad flying to Hangzhou on Tuesday. 카지노사이트