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Team Korea aiming for two bronze medals at Paralympics

Published: 15 Feb. 2022, 14:01

Yoon Kyung-sun, head of the Korean Paralympic delegation, speaks at the Beijing Winter Paralympic press conference held at Seoul Citzens' Hall in central Seoul on Monday. [YONHAP]

The Korean paralympic team announced Monday that Korea is aiming to win just two bronze medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics that starts on March 4.

“We aim to win two bronze medals at the Beijing Games,” said Yoon Kyung-sun, head of the Korean Paralympic delegation, at a press conference held at Seoul Citizens' Hall in central Seoul on Monday.

“We will do our best to provide our Paralympians with the best training environment until the Games and at the Games so that they can live up to their potential.”

The Beijing Winter Paralympics will run through March 4 to March 13. A total of 78 events will be contested across six sports, with Korea sending a total of 30 athletes.

Team Korea’s strengths are in wheelchair curling, cross country and alpine skiing.

The Korean wheelchair curling team is currently ranked at No. 5 in the world. At the PyeongChang Games the team narrowly missed out on a medal, losing 5-3 to Canada in the bronze medal match, but a new squad this year is looking for a podium finish.

Korea's para skier Sin Eui-hyun celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's 7.5-kilometer sitting cross-country skiing at the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics on March 17, 2018. [YONHAP]

Korean skiers are also heading to the Games in good form after winning two medals at the World Para Snow Sports Championships this January.

Cross country skier Sin Eui-hyun won the silver medal in the men's sitting long race, with alpine skier Choi Sa-ra winning the bronze medal in the women’s vision impaired super combined.

Sin is Korea’s only Paralympic gold medalist. He won Korea's first ever Paralympics medal in PyeongChang, winning bronze in the men's 15-kilometer sitting cross-country skiing, and then made history by finishing first in the men's 7.5-kilometer sitting cross-country skiing, becoming the only Korean with two medals from the Winter Paralympics.

Korea won one gold and two bronze medals at the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games. The other bronze medal was won in para ice hockey.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [[email protected]]