Losing 20kg for a Precious Medal Despite Chaos at Asian Games

[Anchor]

We previously reported that rowing athletes, in particular, suffered greatly due to the chaotic organization at the Nagoya Asian Games. From delayed arrivals to a shortened competition schedule, it was a continuous series of hardships, but rower Park Hyun-soo, who shed a massive 20kg to compete, managed to win a precious bronze medal.

Reporter Han Sung-hee has the story.

[Reporter]

Upon arrival, athletes had to spend 450,000 won on taxi fares because no buses showed up, waited nine hours for room assignments at the cruise ship athletes' village, endured packed shuttle buses that ran only once an hour, and to make matters worse, training was limited to just one hour per athlete over two days because repairs were delayed at the venue damaged by The Great Flood earlier this month. The rowing national team thus became one of the biggest victims of the flawed operations at this tournament.

[Kang Min-sung / National Rowing Team Athlete: I think it was pretty tough because of the anxiety wondering whether we'd be able to do well in the competition. We couldn't even train properly...]

With the competition schedule compressed from the original five days into all finals being held in a single day yesterday (September 24), some athletes had to give up their preferred events, but they still raced through the water to the best of their abilities.

Ace Park Hyun-soo even secured a medal.

He finished third after a fierce battle in the lightweight single sculls final.

Park reached the top of the lightweight division at the 2018 Jakarta Games, but when the lightweight category was abolished at the Hangzhou Games, he gained weight to compete in the heavyweight division. When the lightweight category was revived for this tournament, he showed tremendous fighting spirit by undergoing grueling weight loss once again, ultimately wrapping a precious medal around his neck.

[Park Hyun-soo / National Rowing Team Athlete: To win a medal, I lost almost 20kg in weight. It's a bit disappointing, but I worked hard and did my best, so I don't have any regrets.]

Despite the difficulties caused by the chaotic management, the rowing national team wrapped up the tournament, cutting through the water without regrets.

(Video Journalist: Kim Se-kyung | Video Editor: Lee So-young)

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