After sweeping up eight out of 18 gold medals up for grabs in judo at the Summer Universiade, South Korea will look to do an encore at next year’s Summer Olympics, the team’s head coach said Thursday.
Suh Joung-bok oversaw the team that also grabbed five silver and two bronze medals in Gwangju. Saying the Universiade was a “prelude” to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Suh expressed confidence that South Korea will also excel at the Summer Games.
“All the work we put in paid off here,” he said. “I think we’ve made a smooth changing of the guards since the London Olympics.”
The athletes arrived in Gwangju with their sport in turmoil.
Nam Jong-hyun stepped down as head of the Korea Judo Association amid assault allegations last month, and former national team coaches are facing match-fixing and embezzlement allegations.
Suh said the best way to restore fans’ faith in the sport is to win gold medals in Rio de Janeiro.
Since the Universiade is open to student-athletes between 17 and 28, South Korea didn’t bring all of its top athletes in some weight classes, including Kim Jae-bum, the 2012 Olympic champ in the men’s under-81kg. When the veterans step in for the Olympics, South Korea will be even tougher to beat, Suh said.
Some of the youngsters at the Universiade are already considered the top of their division at the national level. An Chang-rim, the men’s under-73kg champ, is an up-and-comer in one of South Korea’s most prestigious divisions that has produced past Olympic champions. Cho Gu-ham in the men’s under-100kg event won his second straight Universiade gold medal here and is trying to reach the next level at age 23.
In the women’s event, Kim Seong-yeon, the under-70kg champ, had also won in the Asian Games last year and appears to be entering her prime at 24.
“So far, we’ve not won more than two gold medals at an Olympics,” Suh said. “Next year, we’ll go for three or more gold medals. Women’s judo will bear watching, too. We will try to make next year’s Olympics our finest hour.” (Yonhap)
