North Korea’s presence in international sporting events has been minimal in recent years, with the country opting out of the Tokyo Olympics and subsequently being banned by the International Olympic Committee.
This year marked their official return to the Hangzhou Asian Games, but gold medals had so far eluded their athletes, at least until the country’s team of shooters and Gymnast An Chang Ok entered the scene.
Trio Shooters
On September 28, North Korea got their first gold medal of the Games when they won the women’s 10m running target team competition with 1,655 points. The team was made up of the country’s top trio shooters: Ri Ji Ye, Paek Ok Sim, and Pang Myong Hyang.
According to The Korea Times, Ri won the silver medal with 554 points, Paek took the bronze with 551 points, and Pang finished fourth with 550 points, giving them a total of 1,655 points and first place in the rankings
Despite Zukhra Irnazarova of Kazakhstan winning the individual competition with a score of 560 points, the nation finished second overall with 1642 points. Indonesia, on the other hand, got a third-place finish with 1604 points.
Gymnast An Chang Ok
Meanwhile, on the same day, An Chang Ok demonstrated her remarkable gymnastics abilities on the inaugural day of Gymnastics apparatus finals, earning two gold medals for her vault and uneven bars performances.
In the vault event, An received a score of 14.049 points, edging out her fellow compatriot, Kim Son Hyang, who had 13.600 points, and China’s Yu Linmin, who had 13.533 points. Meanwhile, at the uneven bars event, An achieved a whopping 14.266 points, successfully brushing past Japan’s Mikako Serita with 13.933 points and China’s Zuo Tong with 13.866 points.
Gold medallists’ salute at ceremony
Following their triumphs, all four of the North Korean gold medalists were spotted giving a salute to their nation on the podium. They were all overcome with emotion as the country’s first gold medals were draped around their necks.
The event was a watershed moment for North Korea and its athletes, who were able to bring pride and honor to their country.
At the Women’s Target Running Ceremony, the North Koreans raised their flag in defiance of the sanctions imposed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the country. However, Raja Randhir Singh, the chief of the Olympic Council of Asia, defended their country, stating that they are currently “in discussions” with WADA and that North Korea has also written a letter to them to explain their position.
“At present, the North Korean flag is flying and we will look into it and see what the future says.”, Singh said.
The photo above is from a YouTube screengrab