The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) are just one month away. The event, which was scheduled to take place last year but was pushed back by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, will take place next month from September 23 to October 8.먹튀검증
The 19th edition of the Hangzhou AG will see more than 12,500 athletes from 45 member countries of the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) compete for 483 gold medals in 40 official and 61 unofficial events. North Korea, which has been absent from the international scene since 2020, has applied to participate, and South Korea has a record 1,180 athletes.
South Korea will be looking to reclaim second place. South Korea finished second to China five times in a row from Bangkok 1998 to Incheon 2014, but slipped to third place behind Japan at Jakarta-Palembang five years ago. The results were even more disastrous. With 49 gold medals, they were far behind Japan (75). Returning to second place is a matter of pride.
Sparkling divinity
Watch out for the ‘new empress’ conquering Asia. Women’s badminton’s Ahn Se-young (21-Samsung Life) and women’s table tennis’ Shin Yoo-bin (19-Korean Air) have taken Asia by storm. Ahn is the undisputed ace of the tournament, having reached 10 finals in 11 international events this year, winning seven. She is currently ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s singles, well ahead of longtime rivals Chen Yufei (China-3) and Akane Yamaguchi (Japan-2). The youngest Korean table tennis player (14 years, 11 months) to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Shin set the tone with her runner-up finish in the women’s doubles at the World Championships in May.
Golden combinations in the fundamentals
Gold medals are also expected in the foundation events. Swimming’s Hwang Sun-woo (20-Gangwon Provincial Office) and track and field’s Woo Sang-hyuk (27-Yongin City Hall) are the frontrunners. Hwang, who set the Korean record in the men’s 200m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, won silver at last year’s World Championships and added bronze this year. In Hangzhou, he’ll be competing against Fan Zhanle (CHN), who is by no means out of the running. Men’s high jumper Woo Sang-hyuk won silver at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 but will be looking to go one step further in Hangzhou. His recent international results, including a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics and a silver medal at last year’s World Championships, are a source of confidence. She will be battling for the gold medal with her compatriot Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar).
Soccer-Baseball Together?
The two major ball sports will try to win together. Hwang Sun-hong’s U-24s will be looking for a third straight title, and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) will play a key role. The 2019 U-20 World Cup runner-up has international experience from the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s World Cup in Qatar. Ryu Joong-il’s baseball team, which has won four straight AG titles, will be looking to start a new era with top prospect Jang Hyun-seok (Yongmago), who signed with Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers.
Legacy sports
Fencing and archery are traditional favorite sports. Fencing brought Korea the most medals (6 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze) and three consecutive overall titles at the Jakarta-Palembang Games. Men’s sabre Koo Bon-gil (34, Korea Sports Promotion Organization) will be looking to win his fourth consecutive individual gold medal and become the most decorated Korean athlete in AG history. With five gold medals, he is on track to surpass the likes of Park Tae-hwan (swimming) and Nam Hyun-hee (fencing – six) in Hangzhou. Archery, which has won 42 gold medals at the AGs, will be looking to prove the power of ‘New Archery Korea’ with three-time Tokyo Olympian Ahn An (22-Gwangju Women’s University) and two-time Olympic champion Kim Jeduk (19-Yecheon County). The team has struggled at recent world championships, but redeemed itself by winning the men’s and women’s team titles at the fourth edition of the World Cup, which doubles as a test event for next year’s Paris Olympics.