“I’m sure I’ll hear some people say, ‘Why are you going when you’ve won a gold medal?’ Personally, I think it’s a reason to prepare better.”
Ko Young-jun, a midfielder for the Pohang Steelers of the K League 1, is a gold medalist at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games.
He was part of Hwang Sun-hong’s team that defeated Japan in the final to win the gold medal and received military service benefits for winning the gold.
With his eyes set on qualifying for the Paris Olympics in July, South Korea coach Hwang Sun-hong has once again called up Ko Young-jun to be part of his Olympic squad.
The midfielder was again included in the roster for the team’s training camp in Turkiye in preparation for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup 2024, an Olympic qualifier.
Speaking to reporters before his departure from Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the afternoon of the 13th, Ko said, “It might look bad for other players, but the Olympics is a big competition. It’s a great opportunity for me,” he said.
Both the Olympics and Asian Games are international competitions with military service benefits.
“When the Asian Games ended, a lot of my friends congratulated me, but I thought maybe they weren’t 100 percent sincere,” he said, adding, “They didn’t say it to me, but they might be thinking it inside.”
In an earlier interview with the media, Hwang mentioned players like Ko Young-jun and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu) who have been together for two consecutive tournaments.
“I don’t think a national team player wears a flag on his chest for one reason (military service benefits),” Hwang said, emphasizing that “when you are given this opportunity, you should do your best to represent your country.”
“I will try to guide them in that direction. I will communicate with the athletes so that there will be no problems 바카라사이트 in terms of motivation at the Olympics,” he said, adding, “The athletes actually think that way.”
Ko is determined to make the final roster as he has been given a rare opportunity.
“I don’t want to be judged like this, I want to be judged as someone who was selected fairly and went to the national team. I will train and compete every day,” he said, “I will do my best.”
