There are no two setbacks. At the last Olympics in Tokyo, I stepped into the ring in front of the pentathlon for the first time, but I didn’t perform well. In a dramatic turn of events, she got another chance. Korean women’s boxing stars Oh Yeon-ji (34, Wolsan City Sports Association) and Lim Ae-ji (25, Hwasun County Office) will be looking to deliver a ‘golden punch’ in Paris.
Their Olympic aspirations have been fulfilled as they both dramatically qualified for the Paris Games. In the 60-kilogram semifinals of the second world boxing qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Bangkok, Thailand, last month, Oh defeated Virtanen Vilma (FIN) by a 5-0 decision to punch her ticket to the Olympic Games. Lim Ae-ji also became the second Korean boxer to qualify after Oh, defeating Jaynab Rahimova (Azerbaijan) in the 54-kilogram category. After failing to secure an Olympic quota earlier in the year, Korean boxing will take pride in their trip to Paris.
In their first Olympic Games, neither athlete performed at their best and were eliminated in their first bout. There are no mistakes twice. Oh Yeon-ji and Lim Ae-ji are determined not to repeat their regrets. In Paris, they have their eyes on the podium.
For Oh, in particular, the Paris Olympics could be her ‘last chance’. Oh has been an unstoppable “one-woman show” in Korea. She became the first Korean woman to win a gold medal at the 2015 Asian Championships. She went on to win back-to-back titles at the 2017 Games, and in 2022, she won her third career podium. She is also the only Korean women’s boxing gold medalist at the Asian Games. She is a 온라인카지노사이트 veteran who has been through it all. She’s healed and hardened.
“It would be great to win a medal at the Olympics, but it’s an honor just to be on the stage. Maybe Paris will be my last major challenge, so I will approach it with a different mindset from the first (Tokyo) Olympics,” he said encouragingly.
His strength is his hand fighting, utilizing his quick steps. He is also working on another weapon, the straight attack. He is determined to utilize his strengths to make the Olympics his “last dance” and leave no regrets.
‘Young blood’ Lim Ae-ji is aiming for a medal in Paris alongside senior Oh Yeon-ji. She has grown since her first experience in Tokyo. She is confident of winning a medal. She uses her quick steps and southpaw boxing strengths to dominate her opponents.
Korean boxing coach Kim Ho-sang said, “Lim Ae-ji has a really good step. If she does well in the first round, she will have no problem from there. She has a good chance of winning a medal.”
South Korean boxing is going through a dark period. The last time the country won an Olympic medal was in London 2012, when Han Soon-cheol (now the national boxing team’s coach) took home a silver medal. The sport is in desperate need of a hero. Oh Yeon-ji and Lim Ae-ae have a heavy burden on their shoulders. Hopefully, the two will be able to signal the revival of Korean boxing with a ‘golden punch’ at the Paris Games.