[Asian Games] North Korea Returns After 5 Years, top 10 Results, Controversial Manners

The number of medals increased compared to the Jakarta and Palembang competitions.

Weightlifting, etc., refused to give super-strong greetings and did not attend press conferences.

Threatening staff and referees and accusing them of ‘no manners’

North Korea, which returned to comprehensive international competitions after five years with the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, performed well in several sports. https://www.totosafeguide.com

However, he was also criticized in terms of manners.

North Korea won a total of 39 medals in this competition, including 11 gold, 18 silver, and 10 bronze medals.

Compared to the Jakarta/Palembang Games in Indonesia five years ago (12 gold, 12 silver, and 13 bronze), there was one fewer gold medal, but the total number of medals increased by two.

The medal ranking for this competition is 10th, the same as the Indonesian competition.

This is why North Korea is evaluated to have maintained its capabilities in strong sports relatively well even though it has not participated in international competitions for the past few years.

However, it also caused a lot of controversy outside of the game, such as refusing to greet opposing players, failing to attend a series of press conferences, and even threatening staff.

North Korean weightlifters were still strong… In this competition, North Korea , a prominent 'female wind', still showed its skills in the traditional strong event.

At the beginning of the competition, she seemed to be falling into a difficult atmosphere as she lost one gold medal after another in men's shooting, which she believed she had hoped for, but she soon found gold in women's shooting and artistic gymnastics.

Artistic gymnast Ahn Chang-ok (20) announced the birth of a new star in North Korea by winning gold medals in her individual vault and double parallel bars event, and sharing a bronze medal with her teammates in the team event.

As expected, North Korea's biggest gold field was weightlifting.

Starting with Ri Seong-geum in the women's 49kg class, North Korean weightlifters collected six gold medals, five silver medals, and two bronze medals in this competition.

In particular, three of them, Lee Seong-geum, Kang Hyeon-kyung, and Kim Il-kyung, stood on the podium in first place, setting a new world record.

In addition, 'North Korea's boxing hero' Bang Cheol-mi, who served as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the North Korean Games, and wrestling's Myeong Hyeong-yeong also won gold medals.

Considering that many new players with little experience in international competitions participated, North Korea's performance exceeded expectations, and at the press conference, the question was asked, "How did they maintain their skills?"

In particular, the ‘afterglow’ stood out.

Of the gold medals won by North Korea, except for Lee Cheong-song in the men's 81kg weightlifting class, the remaining 10 were won by female athletes.

In weightlifting, female athletes showed overwhelming ability, winning gold medals in all five events in which they competed.

In wrestling, North Korea sent four athletes in four weight classes in women's freestyle, winning one gold medal, two silver medals, and one bronze medal.

All female athletes who participated stood on the podium.

In ball sports such as soccer and table tennis (doubles), it was mostly female players who reached the finals and attracted a lot of attention.

However, for North Korea, it was disappointing that they lost the expected matches in wrestling, where they had the upper hand until the last minute, and only got one gold medal, and did not experience the 'taste of gold' in judo, and that men's and women's soccer were blocked by Japan in the quarterfinals and finals, respectively.

A series of controversies ranging from rejection of personnel appointments to threats to staff.

North Korea has been criticized for its lack of manners or its closed-mindedness.

At the beginning of the game, North Korean soccer players passed the mixed zone (joint reporting area) where they communicated with the media in silence, and the cheering squad showed a cold appearance toward South Korean reporters, leading to speculation that the strained inter-Korean relations may have had an effect.

Then, after winning a match with North Korea's Kang Heon-cheol, North Korean judo's Kim Chol-gwang turns away and refuses to shake Kang's offered handshake, while Lee Hye-gyeong, a swimmer from Chongryon, rejects a South Korean reporter's request for an interview and then speaks to a Chinese reporter who is fluent in Korean.

The way he answered questions supported this assumption.

In addition, North Korean players also showed a cold attitude toward South Korean players who had ties to a single team in the past.

At the press conference, the North Korean team was angry at the use of the term 'North Korea', which has been used as a convention, as well as the term 'North Korea'.

On the other hand, North Korea's official media showed a duplicity by labeling the South Korean team as 'puppet'.

The most controversial scene occurred during the men's soccer quarterfinal match against Japan.

When the game did not go as planned, the North Korean players received a warning by stealing water from the Japanese staff and making threatening gestures. After losing, they violently protested by pushing the referee.

In the second half of the tournament, he repeatedly failed to attend the post-game press conference.

After losing a game like in women's basketball, even gold medalists like Bang Cheol-mi in boxing did not attend the press conference, raising questions about why.

The organizing committee simply repeated the answer, “North Korea’s decision.”

At least the weightlifting athletes, who showed overwhelming skills, seemed to have some communication with the reporters. https://castbox.fm/channel/id5683622

After Kang Hyun-kyung of the 55 kg class asked a reporter, "Do you know what the tradition of Joseon is?" she showed confidence by saying, "It is a tradition of victory." Song Guk-hyang and Jeong Chun-hee of the 76 kg class also could not hide their laughter during the medalist press conference.

Sports Minister Kim Il-guk, who participated in the competition as head of the North Korean Olympic Committee's delegation, also showed 'low key' behavior, watching the games of major players rather than engaging in active sports diplomacy.

Just as North Korea had closed its borders due to COVID-19, it seemed to have cut off the outside world and the athletes as much as possible during this tournament.

Most of the players were very stiff or withdrawn regardless of the outcome of the game.

In particular, as the Asian Games were held in China, North Korea's ally, the cheering atmosphere for many sports was reminiscent of North Korea's 'home ground', and the team's closed-minded attitude raised doubts among reporters from each country.