‘Unexpected propaganda’ senior curling team “Thanks to ‘Team Kim’ special training”
The Korean men’s senior curling team, which entered the world championship stage as a club member, is unusual. Athletes go beyond the joy of victory and are putting their first medals in sight in their first competition.
The 2023 Senior Curling World Championships being held at the Gangneung Hockey Center from the 21st. The Gangneung Solhyang team (Shin Man-ho, Cheon In-seon, Choi Jong-kyung, Ham Young-woo, and Heo Jeong-wook), who participated in this tournament, won their second match by beating England and Latvia. The players wore the Taegeuk mark for the first time in the senior world championships and recorded their first victory.
In particular, the players of the opposing country were world championships before curling became an official Olympic sport, and players who had participated in various international competitions. The players who beat those players and recorded 2 wins couldn’t hide their laughter, saying, “Thanks to the special training given by the ‘Team Kim’ players of Gangneung City Hall.”
Completely victorious… and even the final stage of the play
is truly a miracle. Before being selected for the national team, they were the players who used to live their lives in various places in Gangneung, and enjoyed brooming in good stadiums created thanks to the Olympics in the evenings or holidays. As such players team up for the World Championship held in Korea, they are putting on a good performance that is incomparable to any other team abroad.
From the match against England, which was the first game of the Korean players, the players almost flew. England’s skip is England’s ‘curling elder’ John Brown. In particular, he participated in the world championships in the 1980s and has been coaching the England national team players for a long time, so he has a good sense of the game.
The national team players struggled in the beginning, conceding three points to England from the first end. However, in the middle of the game, in the 4th end, Korea pulled a stone outside the house and brought it into the house with a dramatically successful raise shot, bringing in two points and completely changing the atmosphere of the game.
Then England’s camp collapsed. England gave Korea a steal from the 5th to the 7th in succession. In the end, the game turned 6-4, England scored more than 2 points in the 8th end and tried to lead the game to overtime, but Korea’s strategy eventually ended up being the Korean national team’s first win with a final score of 8-4.
The senior national team played a double role in the following match against Latvia. Korea allowed the opponent to turn around with a 3-point steal and entered overtime with a dramatic balance with a steal in the second half of the game, where the defeat was deepening. In overtime, the players stole two more points and succeeded in winning a dramatic victory with a final score of 10-8.
However, the game against Germany held on the morning of the 24th was unfortunately lost 4-5, but it was surprising that the players who said ‘it is best to win once or twice’ defeated elite players from other countries and won. Athletes’ goals are also higher with playoffs and medals.
In particular, the opportunity for the players to perform well was entering the Jincheon National Training Center. In particular, the Korea Curling Federation provided training support for players in Jincheon and arranged practice matches with unemployed teams, while Gangneung City helped the players improve their skills through special training with ‘Tim Kim’. It was a two-win win thanks to everyone’s help.
“‘Team Kim’ players advised me, ‘Don’t be scared'”
The senior national team players who won the victory had bright faces. Cheon In-seon said, “I was worried from the beginning in the first game,” and “It was not easy because it was the first game in the world tournament, but I felt ‘I didn’t feel well’ because England gave 3 points only in the first end.” He expressed his thoughts in the first match.
Cheon In-seon continued, “But while playing the game, my body loosened up.” “I caught them one by one, and the score followed. In particular, winning 2 points with a tap shot in the 4th end was the factor of winning the first game,” she laughed. Then, Ham Yeong-woo also helped, saying, “It was thanks to Skip Cheon In-seon’s line well today,” and “I played with only trust in Skip.” 스포츠토토
Heo Jeong-wook said, “I really enjoyed the effect of the special lecture given by ‘Team Kim’ players.” “They taught me the posture and release, and even taught me how to control my mind, and they told me, ‘Don’t be scared.’ , I did my best to lighten the burden on Skip.”
Choi Jong-kyung thanked the ‘Team Kim’ players for their on-site support, saying, “Didn’t an Olympic medalist even come and cheer for me?” Regarding the victory in the first match, he said, “England is a strong team.
At the same time, Choi Jong-kyung said, “Our players were active as members of a club and received coaching for the first time. I think the game went well,” he thanked coach Jung Heon Jung for helping the national team.
Ham Yeong-woo laughed, saying, “In this competition, we take turns playing alternates.” Regarding the remaining round-robin matches, Shin Man-ho expressed his extraordinary determination, saying, “I don’t have any thoughts. Wouldn’t it be like going out and bumping into each other?
The senior men’s national team, which is working miracles, will play its 4th match against Sweden at noon on the 25th. While Korea is currently tied for second place in the group stage, attention is being paid to whether it will be able to win the PO advance, which is given to the third place in the group.