Korea’s ball game collapses, Paris Olympics squad collapses by 200 players

Soccer, volleyball, etc. eliminated… Only women’s handball is advanced. There were no medals in ball sports in the last two competitions. The team had over 200 players, but a maximum of 160 is expected. This is the lowest number since the 1976 Montreal Games.

As Korean men’s soccer failed to advance to the finals of the Paris Olympics, which opens in July, Korea is expected to have less than 160 players participate in the Paris Olympics, the fewest since the 1976 Montreal Games.

Until the start of the U-23 Asian Cup, which also serves as the Asian qualifier for men’s soccer for the Paris Olympics, the Korea Sports Council predicted that the number of national players participating in the Olympics would be around 170 to 180. However, as men’s soccer failed to participate in the Olympics for the 10th consecutive time, the number of players is expected to decrease further to 150-160. There are 18 players in the men’s soccer finals for the Paris Olympics.

The last time Korea had less than 200 athletes participate in the Summer Olympics was the 1976 Montreal Games, when 50 athletes participated. Korea, which did not participate in the 1980 Moscow Games, participated in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with 210 athletes and won a total of 19 medals, including 6 gold, 6 silver, and 7 bronze medals, and ranked 10th in the overall rankings.

In the 1988 Seoul Games, 477 people participated, the largest number ever. 312 people participated in the 1996 Atlanta Games, the second largest number ever. From the 2000 Sydney Olympics to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which was the previous competition, it was maintained at the 200 level.

The biggest reason why the number of athletes participating in the Paris Olympics fell below 200 is considered to be the slump in team ball games with large numbers of athletes. There are a total of seven team ball sports at the Paris Olympics, including soccer, basketball, volleyball, hockey, handball, rugby, and water polo. Among these, women’s handball is the only sport in which Korea has qualified for the Olympics. Korean women’s handball, led by coach Henrik Signel (Sweden), succeeded in advancing to the Olympics for the 11th consecutive time. In the finals of the Paris Olympics, they were in the same group as other strong European teams, including Norway, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, and Denmark. In women’s volleyball, in which 12 countries participate, there are still 5 tickets to Paris remaining, but considering world ranking points, there is little chance that Korea will win.

Korea is experiencing an overall decline in team ball games. Starting with silver medals in women’s handball and women’s basketball at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and bronze medals in men’s soccer at the 2012 London Olympics, the ball sport that won medals in each competition ended in no medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, men’s soccer, women’s handball, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and men’s rugby advanced to the finals, but failed to win medals, leaving no medals for two consecutive competitions. Baseball, which was a sport at the Tokyo Olympics, was excluded from the Paris Olympics.

Korea’s prospects for a medal at the Paris Olympics are also not bright. The Korea Sports Council believes there may be only 5 or 6 gold medals. Amid the continued slump in sports such as judo and wrestling, which had been strong so far, gold medals are expected to be achieved in archery, flag taekwondo, and fencing, where the team is aiming for its 10th consecutive victory in the women’s team event.

Reporter Lee Heon-jae [email protected]