All Nine Short Track Gold Medalists to Be Decided on the 8th and 9th
Kim Kyungae and Sung Jihoon Advance to Curling Mixed Doubles Knockout Stage
Jung Donghyun in Alpine and Lee Seunghoon in Freestyle Also Challenge for Gold
The 2025 Harbin Winter Asian Games will open with a ceremony at 9 p.m. (Korean time) on the 7th at the Harbin International Convention and Exhibition Sports Center, kicking off an intense 8-day competition.
South Korea aims to achieve second place overall for the second consecutive time, following the 2017 Sapporo Games, in this event held after 8 years. The weekend of the 8th and 9th is expected to be a golden day. This is because all nine gold medalists in short track, a discipline where South Korea prides itself as the world’s strongest, will be decided. Besides short track, curling, alpine skiing, and freestyle skiing halfpipe events competing for gold medals will also take place over the weekend.
The South Korean short track team has won 34 gold, 35 silver, and 27 bronze medals in the history of the Winter Asian Games. Since the team’s goal for this competition is at least six gold medals, there is a high possibility of harvesting their 40th gold medal and 100th overall medal this weekend.
Men's short track speed skating national team member Park Ji-won is training at the multipurpose hall of the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center in Harbin, China, on the 5th (local time), two days before the opening of the Harbin Winter Asian Games. Photo by Yonhap News
Short track events start on the opening day of the competition, the 7th, and all events conclude within three days by the weekend on the 9th. Five gold medals will be decided on the 8th, and four on the 9th.
The first gold medal will be awarded in the mixed 2000m relay. The mixed 2000m relay final is scheduled for 11:06 a.m. on the 8th.
Park Ji-won, the ace of the men’s team, said in a pre-departure interview at Incheon International Airport on the 2nd, “It is important to achieve good results starting with the first medal event, the mixed 2000m relay.”
Park Ji-won aims to win five gold medals and sweep all events in this competition. The biggest obstacle is the 500m. South Korea has traditionally been weak in short track sprint distances. On the other hand, the host country China is strong in sprint events. Since the 1990 Sapporo Winter Asian Games, China has virtually monopolized the men’s and women’s 500m gold medals. Since the 1990 Sapporo Games, the only non-Chinese gold medalist in the men’s and women’s 500m was Lee Jun-hwan of South Korea at the 1999 Gangwon Games. China has won the second most short track medals in the history of the Winter Asian Games after South Korea, with 29 gold, 19 silver, and 19 bronze medals.
Park Ji-won also has to compete against Lin Xiaojun (Korean name Im Hyo-jun), who naturalized in South Korea and now represents China as a top athlete. They are the same age. Lin Xiaojun is aiming for a gold medal in his first major international competition since naturalization. He was unable to participate in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics due to the naturalized athlete waiting period rule.
Women’s short track speed skating national team members Choi Min-jeong (left) and Kim Gilli are sprinting during a training session held on the 3rd (local time), four days before the opening of the Harbin Winter Asian Games, at the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center Multipurpose Hall in Harbin, China. Photo by Yonhap News
The women’s team places their hopes on the twin leaders Choi Min-jung and Kim Gilli. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee expects Choi Min-jung to bring South Korea its first-ever Winter Asian Games gold medal in the 500m event.
Starting with the mixed 2000m relay final at 8 a.m. on the 8th, the short track schedule continues with the women’s 1500m final at 12:20 p.m., men’s 1500m final at 12:41 p.m., women’s 500m final at 2:20 p.m., and men’s 500m final at 2:19 p.m. on the same day.
On the 9th, the short track events conclude with the women’s 1000m final at 12:25 p.m., men’s 1000m final at 12:35 p.m., women’s 3000m relay final at 1:46 p.m., and men’s 5000m relay final at 2:05 p.m.
On the 8th, the curling mixed doubles team of Kim Kyung-ae and Sung Ji-hoon will challenge for the gold medal. Twelve teams participated in the mixed doubles curling event, divided into two groups of six, competing in a round-robin format where each team faces every other team once. The first-place teams in each group advance directly to the semifinals, while the second and third place teams face off in quarterfinals against the third and second place teams from the opposite group.
Kim Kyung-ae and Sung Ji-hoon’s team finished third in Group B with 3 wins and 2 losses, advancing to the knockout stage. They will face the second-place team from Group A, Hong Kong, at 10 a.m. on the 7th. If they defeat Hong Kong, they will play the host country China in the semifinals at 2 p.m. the same day. The final is scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 8th.
The curling national team duo Kim Kyung-ae and Sung Ji-hoon are encouraging each other during the mixed doubles round-robin Group B match against China held on the 6th at the Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena in China. Photo by Yonhap News
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee’s gold medal hopefuls, alpine skier Jung Dong-hyun and freestyle skier Lee Seung-hoon in the men’s halfpipe, will also compete this weekend.
Jung Dong-hyun is aiming for his third consecutive gold medal. He won gold in the super combined at the 2011 Astana-Almaty Games and in the slalom at the 2017 Sapporo Games. Only downhill events for men and women will be held in alpine skiing at this competition.
The men’s downhill event, where Jung Dong-hyun is targeting gold, is scheduled for the first run at 11 a.m. and the second run at 1 p.m. on the 9th.
In women’s alpine skiing downhill, Kim So-hee is also aiming for a medal. Since the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee expects a silver medal, she has a chance to contend for gold as well. The women’s downhill event will have its first run at 11 a.m. and second run at 1 p.m. on the 8th.
The freestyle skiing halfpipe final, where Lee Seung-hoon is aiming for gold, will be held at 11 a.m. on the 8th. Athletes will perform three runs to determine the medalists.
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