Welcome back, Team Korea

Korea wrapped up the Hangzhou Asian Games with its best-ever performance, grabbing 42 gold medals to rank third after China and Japan. In terms of medal count, it beat Japan’s 188 with 190. On Saturday, Team Korea humbled Japan in the U-24 men’s football final to bag its third consecutive win in the Asian Games. In baseball, Korea pulled off a fourth straight gold after beating the Taipei team in revenge for its earlier defeat.

Korea also scored its best in swimming, producing 22 medals (six gold, six silver, and 10 bronze). Kim Woo-min, 22, won three medals and Hwang Sun-woo, 20, two. Other swimmers in their 20s including Ji Yu-chan, 21, and Baek In-chul, 23, added to the gold rush in the water by touching first in the 50-meter free style and 50-meter butterfly.

Veteran athletes also shone. Kim Gwan-woo, 44, became Korea’s first and oldest gold medalist by coming first in Esports, the category’s first official contest at the Asiad in Hangzhou. Kim has been devoted to video games since he first started at age eight. He worked as a professional gamer after winning the first competition in 1997 while at an ordinary job. Kim said he kept to one path thanks to “my strong will.” His unwavering commitment would have moved many. B-boy Kim Hong-yul, 39, won silver in the men’s breaking competition, which also debuted at this year’s Asian Games. “I hurt all over,” he said, but he looked happy. Although they failed to win a medal, Kim Yoon-kyung and Lim Hyun, all born in 1973, did their best in the bridge competition calling it “life’s gift.”

An Se-young defended her world champion title in women’s badminton despite her leg turning blue from over-tightening the tape to numb her knee injury. She did not give up even if she needed a cold massage after every set. Weightlifter Kim Su-hyeon who stopped at fourth at the last Asian Games realized her dream and nabbed a bronze in Hangzhou. She said she received encouragement from the rivalling team’s North Korean coach, who told her “This is your chance.”

The men’s volleyball team did not win a medal for the first time in 61 years and the men’s basketball team also did its poorest. A generational change in judo and wrestling did not take place in Korea while Japan and India fared well thanks to their national promotion and investment in a new generation of athletes. Sports represents a country’s soft power. Nine months are left until the Paris Summer Olympics. We cheer our athletes’ undying passion and willingness to challenge themselves.