Wushu Silver Medalist Lee Ha-sung: "A Medal More Valuable Than My 2014 Gold"

South Korean wushu star Lee Ha-sung (Chungbuk Development Corporation) reflected on the value of his sweat and tears as he stood on the Asian Games podium once again after a long 12-year wait.

On the 23rd, Lee scored a combined 19.406 points in the men's daoshu and gunshu event in wushu taolu at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Japan, taking the silver medal behind Gao Xiaobin of China, who scored 19.582 points.

Lee had emerged as a "wushu prodigy" by winning the South Korean delegation's first gold medal in changquan at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, but subsequently experienced a slump, failing to win medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games.

However, after relentless dedication without giving up, he finally embraced an Asian Games medal again after 12 years.

It was a hard-fought achievement won through a nail-biting battle, with the gap between him and third-place Clement Ting Su Wei of Malaysia (19.403 points) being a mere 0.003 points.

In an interview with Yonhap News after the match, Lee shared his thoughts, saying, "For a long 12 years, the yearning and desperation for an Asian Games medal were always in my heart. That desperation finally seemed to shine at this Nagoya Asian Games."

He continued, "I went through many failures and frustrations over the long 12 years, but thanks to that, I was able to realize and achieve more as an athlete. The color may be less bright than the gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Games, but this silver medal, won after overcoming that long period of endurance, is a bit more valuable to me."

Having successfully returned to the podium, Lee is immediately setting his sights on his next goals.

Lee pledged, "I will achieve good results in the National Sports Festival coming up right in October, and do my best in the first national team selection trials in December to produce good results. I will continue to be an athlete who does not stop and keeps developing and growing."

(Photo provided by the Korea Wushu Association, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.