“I thought I won at the end”
After the match against Hatice Akbashi (Turkiye), Lim Ae-ji seemed to be disappointed with the decision.
Lim Ae-ji lost to Akbas (29-28, 30-27, 28-29, 30-27, 28-29, 28-29) in the women’s 54kg class semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the North Paris Arena in Paris, France, on the 2nd (Korea time). 메이저놀이터
Lim Ae-ji, who has an advantage in out-fighting, raised his forward gear to penetrate a distance of 7 cm long Akbas.
Akbas took advantage of the distance and countered by hitting Im Ae-ji with a counter when he came in.
In the first round, which was less clear from each other, Lim Ae-ji, who was aggressive, hit Akbas with her unique accurate punch. Although it was not accurately counted, she accumulated a considerable number of effective hits in the first round. Many domestic broadcasters expected Lim to be able to take the first round.
However, the decision was different. Three out of five jerseys scored Akbas 10-9 in the first round. Lim Ae-ji, who was more aggressive and left more effective hits, could feel sorry.
In the second round, four jerseys said Akbas won. Lim Ae-ji became a difficult situation in which she had to score points for either KO or all five jersey players in the third round.
Akbas aggressively attacked but secured the second round, avoiding all-out war with Lim Ae-ji and trying to consolidate his performance through a more thorough out-fighting. Three jersey players scored that Akbas won in the third round as well.
Some raise questions over the scorecard that was released after the game. As is the case with every competition, there are suspicions based on the nationality of the jerseys that were made public. The two European jerseys scored 27-30 and Lim lost all three rounds from the first round. The jersey is from Hungary and Estonia. On the other hand, the Indian jersey, which scored 28-29, said Lim won 10-9.
On the other hand, the two jerseys Lim said she won are Sri Lanka and Canada. Among them, Judge from Sri Lanka was the only one among the five who scored that Lim won the second round.
“I didn’t want to win a bronze medal. That’s why I thought I should go to the finals. I thought I would go there no matter what,” Lim said. “I wondered if I would win or lose at the end, but I thought I won. I won a medal, but I wanted to go all the way.”
At the Olympics, boxing is considered a controversial sport as the decision is made by jersey organizations. India filed a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a case in which its player Krishan Vikas won a decision by Errol Spence but was eliminated due to reversal of decision in the 2012 London Olympics. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics were not just one issue. Michael Conran of Ireland and Vladimir Nikitin of Russia in the quarterfinals of bantamweight (56 kg) and men’s heavyweight (91 kg) final, Yevgeny Tyshchenko of Russia in the men’s heavyweight (91 kg) finals, raising issue to the extent that spectators booed him in one voice. As the controversy grew, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) even announced that it would expel judges who caused controversy due to dubious decision during the competition.
Lim Ae-ji, who started her boxing career in earnest from her first year of high school, emerged as a rising Korean boxing star with a gold medal in the A lightweight (-60kg) class at the 2017 World Women’s Junior Boxing Championships.
However, he was not easy at major international competitions. He participated in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta as a featherweight (-57kg class), but was eliminated in the quarterfinals, and was eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, he met North Korean Bang Cheol-mi in the 54kg class and finished the competition in the round of 16.
However, he won a medal in this competition, shining a light on Korean boxing, which is in a subdued mood.
Lim Ye-ji defeated Tatiana Chagas of Brazil in the round of 16 with a 4-1 decision and then defeated Yeni Arias of Colombia in the quarterfinals with a 3-2 decision to advance to the semifinals.
Olympic Boxing does not play bronze to protect athletes, so it gives bronze to all athletes who lost in the semifinals.
Lim is the first Korean boxer to win a medal at an Olympics since Han Soon-cheol (a silver medal in men’s 60kg class) at the 2012 London Olympics. Lim is also the first Korean female boxer to win an Olympic medal.