BAD LUCK, BAD LUCK, BAD LUCK FOR KOREAN EQUESTRIAN DRESSAGE

Korean equestrian failed to win a medal in dressage at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games .The ‘no medal’ in dressage was the first since the sport was introduced at the Seoul Games in 1986.From the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games to the 2014 Incheon Games, South Korea dominated the team and individual gold medals in dressage. Signs of decline were seen at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. After losing out to Japan in the team event to take the silver medal for the first time in 20 years, Korean equestrian barely saved its pride in the individual event, with Kim Hyuk (Gyeongsangnam-do Equestrian Association) taking bronze .Five years later, there were no medals at all in dressage at the Hangzhou Asian Games.Kim Kim-soo (Jeollabuk-do Equestrian Association – 67.800%) finished ninth in the individual dressage final at the Hangzhou Asian Games at the Tonglu Equestrian Center in Zhejiang Province, China on Monday, the best result for a Korean athlete .Lee Soo-jin (Busan Equestrian Association) did not qualify for the final after failing to make the top 15 in the preliminary round .She didn’t even qualify for the team competition on the 26th.In the dressage team competition, which involves three to four riders, the highest three scores from the individual competitions are added together and then ranked by average score .However, the team also lost the chance to compete in the team event when Kim Hyuk, who teamed up with the two athletes and is considered the next big thing in Korean equestrianism, was suddenly “disqualified” during the inspection of his horse after he finished his performance .According to the team, this was after blood was found in the horse’s mouth during a post-event inspection. In dressage, a rider is disqualified from a competition if blood is found on the horse for animal welfare reasons.” Sometimes this happens in international competitions, such as the Olympics,” says Shin Chang-mu, head dressage coach of the Korean National Equestrian Team. When the horse is startled due to external factors and the rider tightens the reins to calm it down and continue the performance, the gag can sometimes cause the skin in the mouth to chafe due to the force of the gag, which is what happened this time. “An official from the Korean Equestrian Association also said, “The stewards inspect the horses before and after the competition, and it is quite rare for something like this to happen after the performance. I can only say that we were unlucky. “In fact, Korean equestrianism has been plagued by another string of bad luck. The country’s top dressage rider, Nam Dong-hun (Gwangju Metropolitan Equestrian Center), was disqualified from the competition after his horse was suddenly seen to be limping during an official pre-event inspection .Kim Kyun-seop (Incheon Metropolitan Sports Association), who is considered one of the best in the country alongside Kim Hyuk and Nam Dong-heon, also had an unexpected problem with his horse. The original owner of Kim’s horse decided to compete at the national championships, making it difficult for him to compete at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The equestrian association explained that the quarantine schedule made it impossible for the horse to compete in both events due to traveling back and forth between Korea and China. This is the latest in a string of “top-level” riders to be dropped from the team, which has already lost one of its top jockeys, Kim Dong-sun, the head of strategy at Hanwha Galleria, who withdrew from the Asian Games in March to focus on management. Kim, Nam Dong-heon, Kim Kyun-seop, and Kim Hyuk were the four athletes selected for the national equestrian team at the Hangzhou Asian Games in April last year. “Korean equestrianism still has a long way to go, but we won’t give up,” said Park Seo-young, president of the Korean Equestrian Federation, who watched the team perform, including Kim Hyuk’s performance .”If it doesn’t work out this time, we will develop more athletes next time. We were unlucky this time, but Korean equestrianism is here to stay. “Dressage is an event in which riders perform on a flat 60-meter-by-20-meter arena while handling a horse along a prescribed course. In the individual finals, where up to two riders per country can compete, 스포츠토토링크 riders perform a freestyle routine to their own music.