[Hangzhou D-30] ① Golden Wave Hwang Sun-woo and Golden Leap Woo Sang-hyeok Lead 'Regaining 2nd Place'

Woosanghyuk (Athletics), Hwang Sunwoo (Swimming), An Seyoung (Badminton), Lee Kangin (Football), ‘Faker’ Lee Sanghyuk (eSports)... These are the star athletes expected to make their mark in history at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Asia's largest sports festival, opening next month on the 23rd at the Hangzhou Sports Park Stadium in China. They are anticipated to lead the charge in reclaiming the second place overall ranking from Japan, which was lost at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Athletics’ Woosanghyuk aims for first AG gold... Swimming’s Hwang Sunwoo targets triple crown in debut

The athletes drawing the most attention are Woosanghyuk and Hwang Sunwoo. They are expected to deliver gold medal news in athletics (high jump) and swimming, which are fundamental sports with the most medals at stake but have been considered weak points for South Korea until now.

Woosanghyuk gained early recognition as a promising athlete by setting a Korean record of 2.35m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, achieving the highest-ever 4th place in Korean athletics track and field history.

Since last year, his improved skills have raised expectations even higher. Woosanghyuk won a gold medal at last year's World Indoor Championships and took first place at the Doha Diamond League. At the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, USA, he earned a silver medal with a 2.35m jump.

At this competition, Woosanghyuk will challenge for his first individual Asian Games gold medal. Previously, he placed 10th (2.20m) at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and won silver (2.28m) at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. If Woosanghyuk wins gold this time, he will become the first male high jump gold medalist at the Asian Games in 21 years since Lee Jintaek at the 2002 Busan Games.

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Hwang Sunwoo (Gangwon Provincial Office), making his Asian Games debut, aims for a ‘triple crown’ in the men's 100m and 200m freestyle and the 800m freestyle relay. The competition with his strong rival, Chinese star Pan Zhanle, draws attention. Pan set an Asian record (47.22 seconds) in the 100m freestyle and a personal best (1:44.65) in the 200m at the 2023 Chinese Championships held in May at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Aquatic Arena, the venue for the Asian Games. The previous Asian record for the 100m freestyle was 47.56 seconds, set by Hwang Sunwoo at the Tokyo Olympics. Hwang holds a personal best of 1:44.42 in the 200m freestyle, 0.23 seconds ahead of Pan.

Last month, Hwang won bronze in the men's 200m freestyle at the 2023 Fukuoka World Swimming Championships with a Korean record of 1:44.42. Following his silver medal at the Budapest Championships last year, he became the first Korean swimmer to win consecutive medals at the World Championships. Pan, by contrast, underperformed, finishing joint 10th in the semifinals with a time of 1:46.05 and failing to advance to the final, which featured eight competitors.

Attention is on whether Hwang will continue the legacy of Asian Games swimming gold medals that ended after Park Tae-hwan. Park won triple crowns at the 2006 Doha and 2010 Guangzhou Games.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

World No.1 Badminton An Seyoung lives up to her name... Archery’s Ansan and Kim Jaeduk strong gold medal contenders

Badminton women's singles world No.1 An Seyoung (Samsung Life) is also expected to showcase her best form aiming for gold. This year, she has won seven out of eleven international individual tournaments she participated in (three runner-ups, one third place), demonstrating peak condition. At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, she was eliminated early in the round of 32 by her nemesis Chen Yufei (China), leading to a humiliating no-medal outcome for Korean badminton for the first time in 40 years. This time, badminton aims for medals in all seven events.

Korea’s representative sport, archery, also sees its national warriors hunting for gold medals. Ansan (Gwangju Women’s University) and Kim Jaeduk (Yecheon County Office), both returning from the Tokyo Olympics, are considered strong gold medal candidates. On the 20th, Ansan topped the women’s team event at the 2023 Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 4 in Paris, raising her condition further in preparation for the golden target. Kim Jaeduk, a two-time Olympic champion (mixed and team events) from Tokyo, also honed his skills by winning gold in the men’s team event at the same World Cup stage.

Whether Shin Yubin will revive the gold medal streak in table tennis, which has been broken since the 2002 Busan Games (Seok Eunmi and Lee Eunsil won women’s doubles gold), is also a point of interest. Shin is ranked No.1 in women’s doubles with Jin Jihi and No.3 in mixed doubles with Lim Jonghoon. She is also a strong medal contender in individual events.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Football’s Lee Kangin fights injury for third consecutive title... eSports’ first official event spotlights ‘Faker’

In ball sports, the football team’s ‘Golden Boy’ Lee Kangin (Paris Saint-Germain, PSG) is expected to shine. Having joined the prestigious French professional club PSG in July, Lee is currently a key midfielder showing his presence. However, Lee’s thigh injury poses a variable. PSG announced on the 22nd via their website that Lee suffered a left quadriceps injury and will focus on treatment until September 15, when the international break ends. Since the Asian Games open a week later, his participation is expected, but it is uncertain whether he will be able to perform at full capacity.

Nonetheless, the military service exemption granted upon winning an Asian Games gold medal is expected to be a strong motivation for Lee. If his physical condition recovers sufficiently, he is likely to participate and contribute to winning gold. Previous team seniors such as Son Heungmin (Tottenham), Hwang Heechan (Wolverhampton), and Hwang Inbeom (Olympiacos) have also performed on the European stage after winning Asian Games gold, raising expectations for Lee’s special performance in this tournament.

Taekwondo, the national sport, will begin its medal hunt in earnest starting with poomsae on the first day of the competition. Representatives Kang Wanjin and Cha Yeeun aim for simultaneous victories in the men’s and women’s divisions.

In eSports, which has been promoted to an official event for the first time at this Asian Games, the participation of the world’s top star, League of Legends (LOL) player ‘Faker’ Lee Sanghyuk, is a major focus. Faker is known as the ‘Messi of eSports,’ having won the World Championship (Worlds) three times, the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) twice, and the LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) ten times. In Go, the Korean team, led by Shin Jinseo, Park Junghwan, and Choi Jeong, is also aiming straight for the gold medal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.