[Asian Games] Show the Power of the 'Golden Generation'... Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Gold Challenge

Hwang Seon-woo Starts Strong in 800m Freestyle
"Korean Record Again This Time" Confident "Asian Record Too..."
Korean Team Sails Smoothly Like a Boat with Favorable Winds on Race Day 1
Exciting Fencing Matchup Today Between Gu Bon-gil and Oh Sang-wook Expected

Hwang Sun-woo (20, Gangwon Province Office), who started his first Asian Games with a bronze medal, aims for gold in the remaining events: the 4x200m freestyle relay and the 200m freestyle.

On the 24th, at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games swimming competition held at the Olympic Sports Center Swimming Pool in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Hwang touched the pad in 48.04 seconds to finish third in the men's 100m freestyle final. He became the second Korean after Park Tae-hwan to win a medal in the men's 100m freestyle at the Asian Games, but there was some regret as he did not reach his personal best of 47.56 seconds. Moreover, his rival Pan Zhanle (19, China) won with a time of 46.97 seconds, breaking his own Asian record (47.22 seconds) by 0.25 seconds. China's rising star Wang Haoyu (18) also finished the race 0.02 seconds ahead of Hwang with a time of 48.02 seconds.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Hwang said, "Pan Zhanle was far ahead and barely visible, so I only saw Wang Haoyu beside me," adding, "Pan Zhanle set an incredible record in the 46-second range. I think he is an amazing and great athlete. I need to train even harder to catch up." The competition has only just begun. On the 25th at 9:45 PM, Hwang will team up with Lee Ho-jun (22, Daegu Metropolitan City Office), Kim Woo-min (22, Gangwon Province Office), and Yang Jae-hoon (25, Gangwon Province Office) to challenge for the men's 4x200m freestyle relay gold.

They set a new Korean record (7 minutes 04.07 seconds) together at the World Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan, last July. Their skills have rapidly improved after two training camps in Australia earlier this year. They have risen to a position where they can aim for medals at the World Championships and have even been nicknamed the "Golden Generation."

At the Korean delegation's send-off ceremony for the Hangzhou Asian Games, Hwang expressed confidence, saying, "Although my condition was not good and my record was poor as the lead swimmer at the World Championships, the 4x200m relay is scheduled early in the Hangzhou Asian Games, so I think I can manage my stamina well. I believe we can set a new Korean record again." Lee Ho-jun also predicted a strong performance, saying, "We are aiming not only to break the Korean record but also the Asian record held by Japan (7 minutes 02.26 seconds)."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The rival again is the host country, China. At the Chinese Swimming Championships held in Hangzhou last May, Fei Liwei, Hong Jinqian, Pan Zhanle, and Wang Shun swam in order to finish the race in 7 minutes 07.29 seconds. At that time, Chinese media predicted that the time could be shortened to the 7 minutes 05 seconds or 7 minutes 04 seconds range at the Asian Games.

The freestyle 200m showdown with Pan Zhanle will take place on the 27th. Based on recent trends, Hwang is favored. He set a Korean record of 1 minute 44.42 seconds and won the bronze medal at the World Championships last July. He earned medals at two consecutive World Championships (2nd place at the 2022 Budapest event) and came within 0.03 seconds of Sun Yang's Asian record (1 minute 44.39 seconds). Pan Zhanle's best record is 1 minute 44.65 seconds. Hwang said, "If I have a friendly race with Pan Zhanle, I think I can achieve a good record," and added, "Please cheer for me a lot, and I will do my best to show a good performance."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Korean delegation sailed smoothly like a ship with favorable winds on the first day when the medal races officially began. Kang Wan-jin (Hongcheon County Office) and Cha Ye-eun (Kyung Hee University) swept the men's and women's individual Taekwondo poomsae events, and Jeon Woong-tae (Gwangju Metropolitan City Office), bronze medalist in modern pentathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, swept both individual and team events, becoming the first two-time gold medalist for the Korean team at this competition. In women's fencing epee, Choi In-jeong (Gyeryong City Office) added another gold medal in a "family battle" against Song Se-ra (Busan Metropolitan City Office). With a total of five gold medals, four silver medals, and five bronze medals, Korea ranked second overall.

The men's soccer team, joined by Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), defeated Bahrain 3-0 to advance to the round of 16 with three consecutive wins. They scored sixteen goals and conceded none against Kuwait (9-0), Thailand (4-0), and Bahrain, raising expectations. Both the men's and women's table tennis teams advanced to the semifinals by defeating India and Hong Kong respectively, securing bronze medals. On the 25th, the men will face Iran and the women will face Japan for a spot in the finals.

In fencing that day, a pleasant "rivalry match between Korean athletes" is expected to take place at 8:50 PM. Men's sabre stars Koo Bon-gil (Korea Sports Promotion Foundation) and Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Office) are set for their second consecutive Asian Games final showdown. Koo is aiming for his fourth consecutive title at this event. Oh wants to avenge his narrow defeat (14-15) at the Jakarta Games five years ago. Their preliminary rounds start at 10 AM.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Korean Taekwondo star Jang Jun (Korea Gas Corporation) will kick toward gold in the men's 58kg sparring event on the first day. In the Taekwondo mixed team event, making its debut at this competition, Park Woo-hyuk and Seo Geon-woo (Korea National Sport University), along with Lee Da-bin and Kim Jandi (Samsung S-1), will compete aiming for the title of inaugural champions. Judo's next-generation star Lee Jun-hwan (Yongin University) aims for his first individual gold medal at the Asian Games in the men's 81kg category.

Meanwhile, China started its dominant run by collecting thirty medals, including twenty golds, on the first day of the medal races. North Korea's Chae Kwang-jin won a bronze medal in the men's 60kg judo event, placing the country 15th in the overall rankings.