Korea finished eighth in overall medal rankings at the Paris Olympics, which ended on Wednesday (Korea time). It won 13 gold medals, nine silver medals, and 10 bronze medals.
The 13 gold medals are Korea’s highest ever in Olympic history. They are the same as those held in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. In Beijing, Korea ranked seventh with 11 silver and eight bronze medals, while in London four years later, Korea ranked fifth with nine silver and nine bronze medals.
Notably, the Korean team won a total of 32 medals in Paris, ranking second in all time. The number is the same as that of the Beijing Games after 33 medals in the 1998 Seoul Games (12 gold, 10 silver, and 11 bronze).
The team displayed substantial performance. The performance was better than expected. As the team had 144 players, the lowest in 48 years since 50 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, the goal was not that big.
The performance of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was also affected. At that time, Korea ranked 16th overall with six gold medals, four silver medals, and 10 bronze medals.
Despite better-than-expected performance, the mood of the Korean team was unexpected. Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), who won the gold medal in women’s singles, criticized the operation of the national team and the Korea Badminton Association, suggesting that she could leave the team. The controversy was so severe that the government even announced its intention to launch a fact-finding mission.
Japan’s Kyodo News Agency pointed out, “Ahn Se-young drew attention after the game by criticizing the Korea Badminton Association’s player management issue.” Chairman Lee said, “We plan to finish well and listen to the players and take care of them if the system needs to be improved, and if there is any misunderstanding, we will organize it through honest conversations.”
Ahn did not mention much after returning home, but he recently told the media that resolving economic issues is the most important thing. He also said that treating all players the same would be reverse discrimination.
Ahn’s controversy has hardly subsided.
“How hard is it to play as a member of the national team? It’s not just Ahn Se-young who is struggling. All players wear the national flag in such an environment,” former badminton gold medalist told the Sunday newspaper. “I joined the national team at an early age and experienced all those times.”
BY: 토토사이트 모음