After tying the record for the most gold medals by a Korean athlete at the Summer Asian Games, fencing veteran Koo Bon-gil (34, Korea National Sports Promotion Organization) reaffirmed his quest for a “seventh gold medal.
“I’m sorry to my juniors, but after winning my sixth gold medal, I’m greedy,” said Koo after sharing the men’s sabre team title with Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), Kim Jong-hwan (Korea Sports Promotion Agency), and Kim Jun-ho (Hwaseong City Hall) at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 at the Hangzhou Electronics University Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Monday. “I’ll try to go all the way to the Nagoya Asian Games in 2026.”
With the gold medal, Koo Bon-gil tied the record for the most gold medals won by a South Korean athlete at the Asian Games with six, including individual titles in Guangzhou 2010, 온라인카지노 Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018, as well as team titles in Incheon and Jakarta.
He also had a chance to win gold in the individual event, but fell just short in the final, losing to his junior Oh Sang-wook.
“At the Jakarta Games, I beat him in the individual event and said, ‘I’ll give you a gold medal in the team event,’ but this time he promised me the same thing after the individual event,” Koo said, adding, “I’m very grateful that he kept his promise.”
On the final against China (45-33 win): “We knew it was going to be a tough game because the tournament was in China and they were on a high after defeating a strong team, Iran, in the semifinals today. We thought that if we focused on the early game and opened up a gap, we would have an easy time, and I think that strategy worked,” he said, adding, “I’m very happy that we ended up winning.”
“I didn’t really care about the Chinese crowd, I was just trying to improve my form. I didn’t want to show any signs of weakness, and I was more ‘fighting’ for the team atmosphere.”
For Koo, who gave birth to a son in March of this year, it was his first gold medal in a big event since then.
When asked how long it will take for his son to realize that his dad is a fencer, Koo said, “I think it will be at the Nagoya Asian Games.” He did not hide his desire to compete at the next Games.
“That record may be broken again, but if they say I have the potential to be the most gold medalist at the next Asian Games, I will definitely give it my best shot,” he said.
As the fourth Asian Games ended on a “golden” note, Koo’s showmanship returned.
After finishing his interview with the press, he said, “There was something I wanted to try,” and gathered his teammates to perform a Chuseok greeting for the viewers in front of the broadcast cameras.
The Sabre athletes, including Koo Bon-gil, who has become a “regular” on TV programs since winning gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, met to discuss the commentary.
‘Eldest brother’ Kim Jung-hwan spoke for the team, saying, “Thank you for believing in and supporting the Avengers (fencing + Avengers – the nickname of the men’s sabre team). I’m glad we were able to repay you with a gold medal. We wish you a happy midwinter,” and after the crowd chanted “Happy midwinter!” a satisfied smile spread across Goo Bon-gil’s face. 슬롯게이밍