Short Track Skaters Park Ji-won, Choi Min-jung, Kim Gilli Lead Defense of 2nd Place at Winter Asian Games

Winter Asian Games Return After 8 Years, Opening in Harbin on the 7th
222 Korean Athletes Aim for Second Place Following Sapporo

The Winter Asian Games, held for the first time in 8 years, will open on the 7th in Harbin, China. South Korea aims to maintain its overall 2nd place following the 2017 Sapporo Games. At that time, South Korea won 16 gold medals, surpassing China (12 golds) and ranking second behind host country Japan (27 golds). The 2021 Games were not held due to the lack of a host city.

This edition will feature a record number of 34 countries and 1,275 athletes participating. Competitors will vie for a total of 64 gold medals across 6 sports (11 events). South Korea is sending a delegation of 222 members (148 athletes, 52 competition officials, and 22 headquarters officials) across all sports including skating, skiing, biathlon, curling, ice hockey, and alpine skiing. Among the 34 countries, only South Korea, China, and Japan are participating in all sports.

The opening ceremony will take place on the 7th at 8 p.m. at the Harbin International Convention, Exhibition, and Sports Center. The flag bearers for the South Korean delegation will be ice hockey player Lee Chong-min and curler Kim Eun-ji.

In this Games, short track skaters Park Ji-won, Choi Min-jung, Kim Gil-li, speed skater Kim Min-seon, figure skaters Cha Jun-hwan and Kim Chae-yeon, curlers Kim Kyung-ae and Sung Ji-hoon, as well as the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams are expected to lead the medal competition.

Short Track National Team members Park Ji-won (left) and Kim Gilli [Photo by Yonhap News]

Park Ji-won is the top male short track skater, having ranked first overall in the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup standings for the past two seasons. In the current 2024?2025 season, he is ranked second overall after the first four of six World Cup events. He will compete in five events at this Games: men’s 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m relay, and mixed 2000m relay. He aims to surpass Lee Seung-hoon, who won four gold medals in speed skating at the 2017 Sapporo Games, by winning five golds.

In women’s short track, the friendly rivalry between Choi Min-jung and Kim Gil-li draws attention. Choi Min-jung is a world-class athlete who won three gold and two silver medals at the 2018 PyeongChang and 2022 Beijing Olympics. After taking a break during the 2023?2024 season, she returned to the national team this season to lead the younger generation. Kim Gil-li established herself as the next ace by ranking first in the ISU World Cup during Choi’s break in the 2023?2024 season. Currently, Kim Gil-li is ranked third and Choi Min-jung fourth in the ISU World Cup standings this season.

Curling is also a strong sport for South Korea at the Winter Asian Games. Curling was first included as an official sport at the 2003 Aomori Games but was excluded from the 2011 Astana-Almaty Games. It returned as an official sport at the 2017 Sapporo Games. South Korea has won 3 of the 6 gold medals awarded in curling across the three Games held so far, along with 2 silver and 1 bronze medals, earning medals in every event they entered.

This time, with the addition of the mixed doubles event alongside the existing men’s and women’s four-person teams, the number of gold medals in curling has increased from 2 to 3. Kim Kyung-ae and Sung Ji-hoon will compete first in the mixed doubles event aiming for gold. The men’s and women’s four-person teams are also targeting the championship.

In speed skating, Kim Min-seon will challenge for gold in the women’s 500m. She ranked first in the 2022?2023 ISU Speed Skating women’s 500m and second in the 2023?2024 season, showing consistent performance. At this Games, she will compete not only in her main event, the 500m, but also in the 100m, aiming for medals.

In figure skating, Cha Jun-hwan and Kim Chae-yeon are expected to engage in fierce competition for gold against Japanese skaters.

Meanwhile, Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will depart on the 6th to attend the Winter Asian Games. Minister Yoo will attend the opening ceremony on the 7th, watch the athletes’ competitions in person to offer encouragement, and return on the 9th.

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