Women’s judo captain Yoon Hyun-ji (30, Ansan City, South Korea) is using the Paris 2024 Olympics as the stage for her national retirement.
She is determined to give it her all as it will be her last time competing under the Korean flag.
“My goal for this Olympics is gold,” Yoon said in an interview published on the Olympic website on Tuesday (June 20). ‘Whether it’s one bout or five bouts (the maximum number of bouts that can be played before the final), I want to sweat without regret,’ she said.
“I will retire from the national team after this Olympics,” he said, adding, ”I had a lot of difficulties during the preparation for Paris, but I received a lot of strength from the people who supported me.
I will live a life of repayment after the Olympics,” she added.
Yoon, who hails from Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, came to judo a little later than most.
She was a student at Cheorwon Girls’ Middle School when she was encouraged to try the sport by her judo coach.
“I didn’t win a single bout in my first year,” Yoon recalls, ”but I worked hard during the three months of winter training and suddenly won first place at my first national tournament in my junior year.”
“That’s when I realized the value of hard work,” he said, ”and I started sneaking out (of the hostel) by myself to work out.”
It didn’t take long for Yoon to become one of the country’s top players.
After earning the Taekwondo mark in 2011, she won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships, and has continued to reap rewards at every international event she competes in.
However, Yoon has been plagued by bad luck on the big stage.
Before the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, she dislocated her right arm and underwent surgery, missing out on a spot at the Games.
He also missed the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang as he was unable to accumulate enough ranking points due to the surgery.
His first Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020, was also a disappointment.
He defeated some of the world’s top players to reach the semifinals before falling short in the quarterfinals and bronze medal match.
After a string of bad luck at major international competitions, Yoon won a bronze medal at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games in September last year.
Now that she’s broken the jinx, Yun is determined to repeat her feat at the Paris Olympics, her last major international event.
As the eldest sister of the women’s judo team, Yun Hyun-ji is also the captain of the squad, setting the tone for the team.
“I feel embarrassed and frustrated when I think that I didn’t perform like a captain in the competition,” she said, adding, ”I will work harder to show my juniors a better version of myself.” 카지노사이트