Who is Im Ae-ji, the first Korean woman to win an Olympic boxing medal?

Olympic Sports

Who is Im Ae-ji, the first Korean woman to win an Olympic boxing medal?

Published: 05 Aug. 2024, 17:03

Korea's Im Ae-ji celebrates after winning the women's bantamweight quarterfinal match against Colombia's Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda at the North Paris Arena in Paris on Aug. 2, guaranteeing a spot on the podium. [NEWS1]

Korean boxer Im Ae-ji took bronze in the women’s bantamweight at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, narrowly missing out on a shot at gold after losing 3-2 to Hatice Akbas of Turkey in the semifinals.

But she’ll still leave Paris with her name in history as the first South Korean woman to medal in boxing at the Games — achieving the feat moments after North Korea’s Pang Chol-mi became the first North Korean woman to do the same.

Bronze medalists Im and Pang — who went head-to-head in a bout last year — will share the podium after the gold medal match between Akbas and China’s Chang Yuan on Friday.

Im’s bronze will remain South Korea’s sole boxing medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is the country’s first since London 2012, where Im's coach Han Soon-chul won men's lightweight silver and women's boxing debuted as an Olympic sport.

London Olympics men's lightweight silver medalist Han Soon-chul, center, comforts Im Ae-ji after she lost her semifinal bout against Turkey's TK at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Who is Im, where did she come from and how does she know North Korea’s top boxer?

International amateur

Im is from Hwasun County, South Jeolla — also the hometown of retired Korean boxer Park Chan-yong — but moved to Seoul to attend Korea National Sport University.

That was around when she had her breakout moment, winning the gold medal in the women’s lightweight at the 2017 AIBA Youth Women's World Boxing Championships in Guwahati, India.

Korea's Im Ae-ji, right, throws a punch during the women's bantamweight semifinals at the Paris Olympics Sunday. [YONHAP]

She made her senior debut for Korea at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, moving down a weight class to vie for a medal in the women’s featherweight contest but failed to reach the podium.

Im, now 25 years old, has spent the last seven years competing on the international amateur circuit.

Korea's Im Ae-ji trains at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong on Nov. 10, 2020. [YONHAP]

Amateur boxing, the style at the Olympics, is faster-paced than its professional counterpart. And amateur boxers, unlike sponsored pros, are not paid to fight. Professional boxers have been eligible to compete at the Olympics since 2016.

2020 Tokyo Olympics

Im qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by winning bronze in the women’s featherweight at the Asia and Oceania qualifiers in Amman, Jordan in March 2020.

More than a year later, Im went to Tokyo with Oh Yeon-ji, who had qualified for a spot in the women’s lightweight contest, as the first female Korean boxers to make the Games.

Korea's Im Ae-ji, left, competes in the women's featherweight round of 16 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on July 26, 2021. [YONHAP]

But neither Im nor Oh, the 2018 Asian Games women’s lightweight gold medalist, advanced past the round of 16. Im lost 4-1 to Australia’s Skye Nicolson, who turned pro a year later, and Oh lost 4-1 to Finland’s Mira Potkonen, an eventual bronze medalist.

Fighting Pang Chol-mi in Hangzhou

Im returned for her second Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last fall. And her first bout was against North Korea’s Pang.

But Pang, the eventual gold medalist in the women’s 54 kilograms contest, beat Im 5-0, ending the South Korean’s shot at reaching the podium.

According to an interview in Paris, Im and Pang spoke after the bout in Hangzhou, with Pang telling Im she “did a good job.”

North Korea's Pang Chol-mi celebrates winning gold in the women's bantamweight at the Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 4, 2023. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

And they met again in the Athletes’ Village at the Paris Games, with the two reportedly encouraging each other to do well in their respective semifinals, setting up a final challenge in the gold-medal fight.

Despite their losses, Im and Pang will meet again Friday as they share the third-place step — and maybe a selfie — at the medal ceremony.

BY MARY YANG, JIM BULLEY [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]