Paralympic Taekwondo Joo Jeong-hoon “I will come with my first Taekwondo medal at the Paralympic Games”

Joo Jeong-hoon (27, Seoul Paralympic Taekwondo Association) is the first Korean athlete to participate in the taekwondo event of the Summer Paralympic Games. Already given the modifier ‘first’, he is aiming for the title of ‘Korea’s first Paralympic Taekwondo medalist’.

Taekwondo was first adopted as an official sport along with badminton at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Persons with amputation disabilities are allowed to participate, and only competitions are held.

There are 6 gold medals in three weight classes for men and women.

Joo Jeong-hoon ranked first in the men’s -75kg class (disability level K44) in the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games held in Amman, Jordan in May this year, becoming the only Korean athlete to qualify for the Paralympic Games.

In a recent phone call with Yonhap News, Joo Jung-hoon said, “There were a lot of things in the preparation process and there were difficult times, but I have received a lot of support and encouragement. I want to repay you through good results.” I will come back with a smile with my medal).”

The preparation process for the competition was not easy.

Just as most sports have been hit in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Joo Jeong-hoon is also training in a poor environment.

He, who entered the final quenching in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, said, “The training facilities were closed as social distancing was upgraded to level 4. Recently, I have been practicing taekwondo such as kicks outdoors.” It’s a pity that I have to prepare like this ahead of time. I have a lot of worries.”

However, he is struggling to stay centered and not swayed by the situation.

Joo Jeong-hoon said, “When I started Para Taekwondo, the environment was not good. It is true that before the adoption of the Olympic sport, the athletes were thin and there was not enough support.” “It was helpful to exercise like that. “I’m preparing to do my best like any other game,” he explained.

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The goal, of course, is to stand on the Paralympic podium.

This was unthinkable even 4 or 5 years ago.

When Joo Jung-hoon was 2 years old, he put his right hand into a sawyeomul cutter and had an accident.

He started Taekwondo when he was in the second year of elementary school, and has since walked the path of an athlete and competed with non-disabled athletes, but stopped exercising when he was in his second year of high school.

“It was a time when I couldn’t overcome obstacles on my own. I wasn’t confident even when I went to a match, and I was busy hiding. I couldn’t concentrate on the game,” he said.

After quitting sports, he went to university to study business administration. I never thought of starting Taekwondo again.

However, there was a steady suggestion from those around him that he would not try Taekwondo again, and while he was worried, he heard the advice of a friend, “Why are you hesitating like an idiot,” and wore Taekwondo uniform in the winter of 2017.

Thanks to this, I became the first national Taekwondo team to participate in the Paralympic Games in Korea.

Joo Jung-hoon said, “I do not regret this choice at all. I made a good choice.”

Joo Jeong-hoon, who is ranked 13th in the world, said, “The rankings are a little lower than the top 10, but I saw that athletes outside the rankings made great strides in the Olympics.” made a commitment

He has said in the past that if he wins a gold medal in the Paralympic Games, he will give it to his grandmother, who raised him as a child.

Joo Jung-hoon said, “I think my parents would be sad then. Thanks to my parents who supported me to do everything I wanted to do, I was able to take on the challenge again,” he said with a smile.

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