South Korea lowered its medal expectations for the Paris Olympics, aiming for 15th place overall with five gold medals as it fields its smallest Olympic squad in nearly five decades with around 140 athletes.
SEOUL, July 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korea lowered expectations for medals in the 2024 Olympic Games as it will field the smallest Olympic squad to Paris in almost five decades.
"(South Korea) aims to win the 15th place in the overall medal table by securing five gold medals," Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), said at a press conference that was held just one month before the Paris 2024 opening ceremony.
In Tokyo 2020, South Korea fielded over 230 athletes but finally ranked 16th with six gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals, the lowest number since Los Angeles 1984.
The lowered medal expectation in Paris 2024 came as the country planned to send a delegation of about 140 athletes competing in 21 out of 32 sports.
It would be South Korea's smallest squad since the Montreal Olympics, to which the country sent 50 athletes.
The smallest delegation in five decades stemmed from the country's failure to qualify in most team sports, including football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, rugby and hockey. The women's handball team solely qualified for the Paris Olympics.
However, Jang Jae-keun, head of the South Korean national training center, said that better-than-expected results would be possible as the performance of athletes have been on the "great rise."
Some local media forecast that the gold medal tally could double the expectation if the country takes five golds in the traditionally strong archery and fencing while securing one respective gold in badminton, swimming, shooting, taekwondo and judo.
South Korea may contend for gold in modern pentathlon, sport climbing and golf in Paris, according to local media.
"I was a teenager in Tokyo. My goal (in Paris) is to win the third straight gold in the men's team event," 20-year-old archer Kim Je-deok told reporters.
Kim made his Olympic debut in Tokyo where he took two golds. South Korea has claimed 43 Olympic medals, including 27 golds, in total in archery. ■
