President Yoon Suk Yeol encouraged Ahn Se-young and other jubilant athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
President Yoon and his wife held an event to encourage the Olympic team at a hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. Athletes from the Paris Olympics, staff and cooks from the Jincheon National Training Center, and researchers from the Korea Sports Science Institute were invited to the event.
According to Yonhap news agency, President Yoon said, “My record of 32 medals and ranking 8th overall at this year’s Paris Olympics is the highest ever, and there are many great records set by our athletes. Representatively, the 10th consecutive Olympic gold medal in women’s team archery will be an unprecedented history that no country can break.” “I was very happy to have you even in the hot weather and tropical nights this summer. Team Korea, way to go!”
President Yoon, who presented the National Thank You Medal to all 144 athletes and 90 leaders who participated in the Paris Olympics, said, “We need to allow our young athletes to train and develop their skills in better conditions. We need to further develop good results and innovate old practices to create a free and fair training environment that fits the values, culture, and consciousness of the young generation.”
President Yoon’s remarks are interpreted as taking into account the “Ahn Se-young incident,” in which he criticized the badminton team for its treatment wrapped up in practice. Immediately after winning the gold medal in women’s singles, Ahn expressed regret over the support of players from the Korea Badminton Association, and also revealed that she had been subjected to unfair practices in the national team for the past seven years because she was the youngest. 안전놀이터
“I’ve endured so many things for seven years. While suppressing myself for this goal,” Ahn said. “I’m cautious, but I wanted to talk about it once. To put it another way, one of the reasons why I wanted to win the Olympics and ran so hard was because I wanted my voice to be energized,” he said.
“In badminton, singles and doubles are very different, and players should not be disqualified. I think our association is blocking everything. And in the same way, we neglect a lot in the name of freedom. I think badminton can make further progress, but I think we should look back on the fact that there is only one gold medal,” he said, pointing to the Badminton association’s player management.
After returning home, he said on his social networking service (SNS), “I wanted to say that every moment, not ‘no, bad, wrong’, but that these parts must be changed to develop together. I just want them to reduce their differences in thinking about the system, communication, and care, and operate on a common sense basis that everyone can understand,” he said. “From now on, the association officials are at the key to change. I hope you don’t turn away any more and act actively. I ask for your continued attention so that players can focus only on exercise and show good performance under a reasonable system.”
President Yoon shook hands with Ahn as he entered the venue on the day and greeted him briefly. “Ahn showed an amazing and moving performance. I think he could have won a gold medal because he worked so hard for this Olympics and overcame many injuries including knee injuries.”
In addition to President Yoon, Jang Mi-ran, the second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, was also seen smiling while talking to Ahn Se-young.
Meanwhile, President Yoon also mentioned swimming Hwang Sun-woo, gymnastics Yeo Seo-jeong, breaking Kim Hong-yeol, high jump Woo Sang-hyuk, and weightlifting Park Joo-hyo, saying, “He impressed the people as much as the medal-winning athlete. He showed the true face of young people who are trying hard.”
Finally, he said, “Hosting the 1988 Olympics, we have a legacy and a stake in the Olympics. Thank you very much for protecting and developing these legacies in Paris.”