Hangzhou swimmer Kim Woo-min aims for quadruple gold, surpassing Park Tae-hwan.
Hwang Sun-woo (Gangwon Provincial Government) is the ‘poster boy’ for Korean swimming at the Hangzhou Asian Games. However, Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Province) is the best in the middle and long freestyle events.
He will be competing in the men’s 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 800m freestyle relay at the Games and will be looking to surpass the achievements of his ‘senior’ Park Tae-hwan.
Park Tae-hwan also failed to win a quadruple at the Asian Games. His best result was a triple in Doha in 2006 and Guangzhou in 2010.
“It’s my first Asian Games, so I want to make a splash,” Kim told reporters at the Jincheon Athletes’ Village swimming pool in Chungcheongbuk-do on Thursday.
“I will enjoy the pressure of winning the quadruple and overcome it,” he said, adding that his most confident event is the 400-meter freestyle.
“I’ve already swam a time in the 3:43s this year, so first place is a bit of a certainty, but I’m not going to let my guard down and challenge for first place with a better time,” Kim said.
The “better time” Kim has in mind is held by Park Tae-hwan.
Park won the gold medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Games with a time of 3:41.53.
“Tae-hwan Park’s record is my goal,” Kim said. “I don’t know if it will be in this competition, but I have a lot of thoughts that I want to surpass it one day if I set my mind to it and train hard and consistently.”
“I feel good with my teammates right now. We have a lot of momentum,” he said. “Now we just have to show it at the Asian Games. Everyone is training very hard.”
Women’s ace Kim Seo-young (Gyeongbuk Provincial Office) brought pride to Korean swimming at the last edition of the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Games.
Kim won the women’s 200-meter individual medley to avoid a no-gold medal, and she is determined to do the same.
“I did well at the last Asian Games, so I want to do well at this competition. I want to race with no regrets,” she said.
Kim, who will compete in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley, added, “My times have dropped since I’ve been competing this year, so it will be important to improve my overall times.”
Jang Joon (Korea Gas Corp.), a lightweight competitor aiming for the top spot in the men’s 58-kilogram taekwondo division, said he is not only looking for gold, but also for “fun.
“There are many people who say that taekwondo is not fun these days,” he told reporters at the Pilseunggwan Athletes’ Village, “but with the change to the round system, there are more aggressive parts. It will be fun.”
Jang was a dominant force in the lightweight division, but lost to Bae Joon-seo (Ganghwa County) at the national trials in February, denying him a spot at the world championships.
He had to watch as Bae went on to win the World Championships in May.
“Watching those matches, I thought, ‘I could have done better if I had played,’ and I will prepare well for the Asian Games and show that,” he said.
“I need points to maintain my ranking, and this is a tournament that gives a lot of ranking points. It’s very important.”
Lee Da-bin (Seoul Metropolitan Government), who will compete in the women’s 67kg overweight category, will be looking to win her third consecutive title after winning in Incheon in 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang in 2018.
“This is my third challenge, so it means a lot. “I’m preparing more intensely than in the previous tournaments,” he said, “not only nationally but also personally.
Idabin was knocked out in the round of 16 at the World Championships in Azerbaijan in May, much to the chagrin of those around him.
“I’m still very upset and tearful when I think about my performance,” he said, “but I’m trying to shake it off and focus more on the upcoming tournaments.”
“I didn’t neglect my preparation then either. I’m always trying to improve. 카지노사이트넷 I’m thinking a lot of positive thoughts.”