Choi In-jung, 33, of Gyeryong City Hall, has been a mainstay of the Korean national team since the 2010s, when she topped the women’s individual fencing competition at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Thursday.
In her early 20s, she helped South Korea finish runner-up in the team event at the 2012 London Olympics, and nine years later, in Tokyo 2021, she helped South Korea reach the Olympic team final and win another silver medal.
She has also won three FIE World Cups and two International Grand Prix titles, as well as individual gold medals at the Asian Championships in 2011 and 2014.
Described as a focused and defensive fencer at 5’10”, she has remained competitive on the international stage over the years, reaching the top of the women’s individual world rankings last year.
However, she has been unable to get over the hump in individual competitions at international tournaments.
At both the 2014 Incheon and 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, she lost in the individual semifinals and had to settle for bronze.
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where he was ranked second in the world, his medal hopes came to an early end when he was knocked out in the round of 32 by a player ranked outside the top 200.
Aside from a third-place finish at the Asian Championships in June, his recent international performances have been lackluster, with his world ranking dropping to 17th, 바카라사이트 and he has lost some ground to his fellow countryman Song Sera (Busan Metropolitan Government) ahead of the Asian Games. Song had been touted as the new ace in the hole after winning two World Championships titles last year.
However, Choi In-jung, hardened by her past experiences, did not falter this time around.
She finally made it past the semifinals of the Asian Games, something she hadn’t done in her previous two appearances, and finally emerged as the heroine of the tournament with a 9-8 victory in overtime in a final that turned into a “house fight” with Song Sera, who was considered a strong favorite.
When Choi was selected as the recipient of the Korean Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Year Award in February this year after winning various international tournaments and reaching No. 1 in the world rankings last year, she vowed to “become an athlete worthy of the award,” and she fulfilled that promise with her first gold medal at an Asian Games in six months.
After winning the gold medal, Choi said, “I’m going to retire after playing for the national team only until this year,” and announced his intention to hang up the Taeguk marker.
“I didn’t have any personal ambitions in this tournament, I just wanted to do my part in my position,” he said, adding, “I feel like I’ve done that, so I’m even happier.” 슬롯사이트
