North Korea missed out on two gold medals in women’s wrestling, a sport it has labeled a “strategic event.
North Korea won two silver and one bronze medals in three women’s freestyle events at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Friday at the Lin’an Sports and Cultural Exhibition Center in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province.
It was a disappointing performance for North Korea.
North Korea’s Kim Sun Hyang, 26, who competed in the 50-kilogram women’s freestyle, won the silver medal after losing 4-5 to Japan’s Remina Yoshimoto in the final.
Kim appeared to lift her opponent for a reversal just before the end of the match, trailing 4-5, but was denied the gold medal after a video review.
Kim and the North Korean coaches were seen stomping their feet as the video review was announced, unable to get over the loss.
They did not respond to any interview requests from reporters in the joint press area (mix zone).
A similar story unfolded in the women’s 57-kilogram freestyle final.
North Korea’s Jung In-soon jumped out to a big lead against Tsugumi Sakurai (JPN), the reigning world champion in her weight class who has won the last three consecutive world championships.
With just over two minutes left in the first period, she grabbed her opponent’s leg and stood up to score two points, then sidestepped Sakurai for two more.
Jung then pinned his opponent to the floor for two more points to make it 6-0.
He bided his time in the second period by playing defense, but was pushed off the mat several times, resulting in two warnings and a 6-7 decision.
Later in the day, Insoon suffered a large cut around his eye in the round of 16 against Chantilly (VN), which caused him to bleed, but he fought through the rest of the match with a bandage.
Jung In-soon left the joint press area alone after the match, and the North Korean coaches angrily followed her out.
Jung In-soon and the North Korean coaches also passed by without responding to the reporters’ interview requests.
North Korea’s Choi Hyo-kyong, 23, won the bronze medal in the women’s 53-kilogram freestyle.
Choi, 23, was in dominant form in the bronze medal match against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thiemichang, winning an 11-0, first-period fall.
The women’s freestyle lightweight wrestling event is a medal strategy for North Korea.
The DPRK sent four athletes to compete in the women’s freestyle lightweight category at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, winning two gold and two bronze medals.
North Korea is sending four athletes to this year’s Games in the women’s freestyle lightweight division. On Saturday, Myong Hyong-yong, 25, will compete in the 62-kilogram women’s freestyle. 파워볼분석