South Korean celebrates early ! - as did Ben Johnson in 1988 !!

Remember seeing that ‘greatest race of all times’  -  not about whether this was the dirtiest or not – more on the aspect of celebration.  The winner, even in that shortest form of race – turned back – seeing all his competitors far behind, raised his hand and celebrated – yet won the event quite comfortably (but was stripped off the  medal)

It was September 24, 1988, a heartbeat before the start of the 100 meters final and what was to become the most infamous sporting moment in Olympic history.  The man on whom all spotlight beamed  was the last man to settle into his blocks at the Seoul Olympic Stadium.  Perhaps a psychological  ploy !!

Ben Johnson,  that day looked down at  the rest of an-all star field that included then Olympic champion and fierce rival Carl Lewis, former world record holder Calvin Smith and future gold medalist Linford Christie, paced back and forth like caged panthers seeking the psychological advantage of settling last. The field stretched, hopped and feinted as they pretended not to look at each other. Johnson merely stared straight ahead, unblinking.  

The gun fired and the Canadian exploded  – literally pushed himself to history - Just 9.79 seconds later he had smashed the world record in a display of power and awe never before seen in track and field, against the greatest field of sprinters ever collected.  More was to happen as in another 24 hours he fell to oblivion with a failed drugs test when traces of  banned steroid stanozolol were found in his urine.   

India's speed skaters dazzled at the Asian Games with two surprise bronze medals in men's and women's 3000m team relay events to match their best-ever performance in roller sports at the continental showpiece.  Teenagers Karthika Jagadeeswaran and Heeral Sadhu combined with 29-year-old Aarathy Kasturi Raj to clinch India's first-ever medal in the speeding skating discipline in Asian Games. Anand Kumar Velkumar, Siddhant Kamble and Vikram Ingale then followed their women counterparts to grab the third spot with a timing of 4:34.861s in the final at Qiantang Roller Sports Centre.  Roller sports made its debut in the Asian Games in 2010  when the games were held in Guangzhou, China. 

 

In the present edition, a  South Korean roller skater  lost out on a gold medal at the Asian Games after celebrating too early will now face another penalty for his complacency - 18 months to two years of military service.

 

Taiwan picked up the gold medal in the Men's 3000m roller skate relay at the Asian Games by just 0.01 seconds after South Korean Jung Cheol-won, who thought he had sealed victory, lifted his arms in celebration a few feet from the line and was pipped by Taipei's Huang Yu-lin.  All able-bodied South Korean men aged between 18 and 28 must serve in the military for around 1.5 to 2 years as part of the country’s efforts to guard against North Korea. But athletes and artists can get exemptions if they are seen to have promoted national prestige, for example by winning certain international or national awards, an Olympic medal or a gold medal at the Asian Games. 

Not only did his mistake cost the 27-year-old and his teammates a Gold medal and a stunning victory - it means both he and another of his compatriots, 23-year-old Choi In-ho, will now be eligible for South Korea's military draft.  The news did not appear to have been well received by the team, who were seen sporting scowls on the podium as they received their silver medals.  

'I made a rather big mistake. I didn't come at full speed to the finish line. I let my guard down too early,' said Jung after letting his concentration slip at the pivotal moment. 'I am very sorry. I apologise to my teammates and to our fans who supported us. We all worked very hard together for this, and it's all my fault.'

Meanwhile, Taiwan's gold-medallist Huang admitted that he spotted the lapse from Jung, and drew on lessons from his trainer to pip the South Koreans to the post.   'I thought it was such a shame that I was just a little bit short, and then the results came up on the screen showing that I had won by one hundredth of a second, and it was just a miracle.'

Though South Korea's exceptional athletes and artists are able to secure exemption from military service in the case of overwhelming success, it is rare for even some of the country's top representatives to avoid the draft. Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min - one of the country's most accomplished and successful athletes on the world stage - was thought to have won exemption in 2018 when he secured gold for the national team at the 2018 Asian Games. But in 2020 he was forced to complete three weeks of basic military training.  

Meanwhile, several members of the K-pop group BTS are currently serving in South Korea's armed forces despite the boy-band being one of the world's top-selling musical acts with tens of millions of fans worldwide.  Meantime in India, people have unlimited freedom to criticise the Govt, doubt whether India indeed conducted surgical strikes and post memes in social media !!

 

With regards – S Sampathkumar 

4^th Oct 2023