Korea has now witnessed the kick-off of the Incheon Asian Games or Asiad. The event is a tournament for summer sports recognized by the IOC (International Olympic Committee). Many of Korea’s athletic stars who have already proved themselves in previous Asiads or even the London Olympics are getting ready for another major tournament they had been preparing and waiting for 4 years. The Korean athletes that are receiving the most attention right now are Taehwan Park for swimming, and Hak-sun Yang for gymnastics.
25-year-old Taehwan Park first earned recognition in the global arena after his performance in the Doha Asian Games in Qatar in 2006. Park, who was a junior in high school at the time, earned 3 gold medals in 200 meters, 400 meters and 1,500 meters swimming. Park was named the Asiad MVP of that year, and he became tripe-crowner at the Gwangzhou Asiad in 2010, the first swimmer in history to ever achieve such a record.
Park also has some stunning Olympic records as well. In the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Park earned gold for 400 meters, and silver for 200 meters, becoming the first Korean swimmer to win a gold medal in the Olympics.
Many fans of the “Marine Boy” are hoping Park would again become the holder of 3 gold medals in swimming. On the 21st, he will be participating in the preliminary rounds for 200 meter free style swimming. If Park wins, he will become the first swimmer to win a gold medal for 3 consecutive Asiad tournaments. Many fans are expectant of Park, for it is highly likely this may become Korea’s first gold medal of the tournament.
Another sports star that Korean fans have high expectations of is Hak-sun Yang, who will be playing vault for gymnastics. During the 2012 London Olympics, Yang became the first Korean gold medalist for any form of gymnastics in history. For the past 3 months however, Sports Donga reported that Yang has been in rehab, recovering from a back injury. Thankfully now, he is in the final stages of his training for the Asian Games, fliming videos of himself to check and fix his form.
Yang is an athlete from very humble backgrounds. Before winning the gold medal in 2012 at London, the “god of vault” shared how he and his family used to live in a greenhouse growing vegetables. After his victory in the 2012 London Olympics, the 22-year-old athlete was able to purchase an apartment for his family.
Other sports starts including Yeon-jae Son for rhythmic gymnastics and Yongdae Lee for badminton are all getting ready for this major tournament as well as national teams of all Asian countries of the globe, including North Korea.
