"I won the gold medal!"
On September 20, at the Higashi Sports Center in Nagoya, Japan, Lee Jun-seok shouted to his mother, Yoon Soon-jeong, in the stands after winning the men's singles final in techball. His mother was in tears, having supported his dream by purchasing a techball table that cost over 2 million won when he first started. Unbeknownst to her that he would reach the finals, Lee became the inaugural Asian Games men's singles champion in techball.
Lee began playing soccer in elementary school and competed in the K4 League but hung up his cleats at the age of 21. After trying foot volleyball, he discovered techball. While working as a contract employee in a manufacturing job, he continued to pursue sports. When he heard that techball was officially adopted as an Asian Games event, he resigned from his job, choosing the opportunity to represent his country over job security.
The national team could not train at the Jincheon National Training Center. They practiced outdoors in the rain and only secured an indoor training facility in July. Lee even traveled to Hungary, the birthplace of techball, at his own expense to train. Teammate Lee Tae-bin left his job in jewelry design, and Kim Eun-jun also departed from a foot volleyball team at a pharmaceutical company. The only player with stable employment on the team is Jang Eun-seo, who is studying at Korea National Sport University.
In the final, Lee defeated Iraq's Ali Jareel Majir Al-Elaiawi with a set score of 2-0, marking the first gold medal in men's singles techball at the Asian Games. He fulfilled his dream of donning the national team jersey again at the age of 27, six years after he last wore it.
However, this achievement should not be the end of the story. Lee had to quit his job to become a national representative and spent his own money to gain international competitiveness. Despite winning the gold medal, there is no professional team to return to. It is a stark reality that the Asian Games champion wishes for the establishment of professional teams in techball.
It is not a call to create professional teams for all emerging sports and provide equal support. Efficient use of limited sports funding is also important. However, leaving a significant portion of training and livelihood responsibilities to individual athletes while selecting national representatives for international competitions is a different issue. At the very least, if a sport is officially adopted and a national team is dispatched, there should be basic training conditions and support standards in place.
The Korean Sports Council announced on September 21 that it would establish support measures for the techball national team to train at the Jincheon Training Center. While this is a welcome development, it is concerning that this action came only after the gold medal was won. If athletes must prove themselves through results to receive attention and improve training conditions, it raises the question of whether the Sports Council would have acted if Lee had not won a medal.
Lee stated that the morning after his victory, he pinched himself to confirm it was not a dream. The gold medal was not a dream, but the reality of having to worry about his livelihood remains the same. Future athletes should not have to give up their jobs to pursue the same dream.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.