LONDON -- South Korea still remains on course to meet its gold medal target at the London Olympics despite its slower-than-expected start, officials here said Wednesday.
South Korea, with 245 athletes in 22 sports, has set out to grab at least 10 gold medals for its third consecutive top-10 finish at the Summer Olympics. Through Tuesday, South Korea had earned three gold medals and eight medals overall, good for fourth place in the medal table through Tuesday.
The gold medal total falls below an early projection by the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) by this point. The country had expected up to four gold medals alone on the opening weekend.
But swimmer Park Tae-hwan took silver in the 400-meter freestyle last Saturday after a debacle surrounding his false start disqualification. The men's archery team, which set a world record for 216 arrows a day before, fell to the U.S. in the semifinals last Saturday and got a bronze medal.
Foil fencer Nam Hyun-hee, the silver medalist in 2008, blew late leads twice in the semis and in the bronze medal match to finish out of the podium.
Park wasn't the only South Korean athlete to be affected by judging disputes. Judoka Cho Jun-ho had his apparent quarterfinal victory overturned by the International Judo Federation (IJF) and fought his way to a bronze in the men's under-66-kilogram class.
Epee fencer Shin A-lam lost in the semifinals to an apparent timekeeping error and, unable to regroup in time, fell again in the bronze medal contest.
Still, South Korean sports officials here remain optimistic.
"It's premature to say our goal is already out of reach," one official from the athletic delegation said. "There are still many events left. If we can add titles from archery, taekwondo, shooting, gymnastics and wrestling, we should go well over 10 gold medals."
Pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh was on the mark in the men's 25ｍ air pistol for South Korea's first gold in London. He is also favored to take the 50ｍ pistol event, where he's the defending Olympic gold medalist. Kim Jang-mi, the world record holder in the women's 25ｍ pistol, will take aim for her first Olympic title Wednesday.
In the new month of August, fans can look forward to more medals, officials say. Taekwondo, the traditional Korean martial art, will begin next Wednesday for South Korea, which will have two fighters each in men's and women's competitions. All four are considered contenders, including a pair of returning Olympic champions, Cha Dong-min in the men's over-80㎏ and Hwang Kyung-seon in the women's under-67㎏.
The male archers, having come up short in the team event, will try to end South Korea's Olympic drought in the individual event.
The female archers will seek to add an individual gold to their team title.
The teenage gymnast Yang Hak-seon, competing in vault, is also regarded as a strong gold medal favorite. The men's badminton doubles team of Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung are ranked No. 1 in the world, and they've cruised into the quarterfinals here.
Boxer Shin Jong-hun in the men's light flyweight and Jung Ji-hyun in men's Greco-Roman wrestling could be surprise champions, officials say. In an optimistic projection, South Korea could surpass its single Olympics record of 13 gold, a standard set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
(Yonhap News)
