Recently, it was revealed that Chinese fans threatened South Korean national representative Hwang Dae-heon at the third round of the Short Track World Cup held in Beijing, China. After finishing his race on the first day of the competition, Hwang Dae-heon allegedly heard mocking comments about his disqualification and comments about Ren Shaoqing (Korean name: Lim Hyo-jun) from Chinese fans at his accommodation. As a result, Hwang Dae-heon expressed psychological distress and withdrew from the men’s 5000m relay final.
An Jung-hyun, the coach of the short track team, mentioned the incident on media day, criticizing the behavior of the Chinese fans who were waiting for Hwang Dae-heon at his lodgings. The Korea Skating Union protested the host country China and took measures to assign guards when the team moved. A skating union official said they protested to the ISU, but were in a difficult situation as it was during the competition.
Hwang Dae-heon, who crossed the finish line first in the men’s 1000m and 1500m at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, was disqualified and lost his medal. Ren Shaoqing, who naturalized to China, did not participate in this competition due to injury, so there was no match against Hwang Dae-heon.
Coach An Jung-Hyun said that Hwang Dae-heon’s condition and physical state have improved and that he will focus on showing the good aspects of the entire team rather than being conscious of a specific player. This incident, a threat to the athlete outside the stadium, once again woke up the importance of fan culture and player protection in international sports events.
By. Dong Ho Ryu
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