(Asian Games) Gold medal-winning fencer relies on mother for support

By Yoo Jee-ho

JAKARTA, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- There were many moments in the past when Kang Young-mi, South Korea's latest Asian Games fencing champion, just wanted to up and quit, frustrated that she wasn't going anywhere in the sport.

But in all those trying times, Kang looked to her mother, Choi Geum-seon, for support and found the resolve to stick with fencing. And it's a good thing that she did: Kang's perseverance paid off as she won her first Asiad gold medal here on Tuesday, in her first appearance in the continental event at age 33.

"I wanted to just quit so much, but I hung tough because of my mother," Kang said, choking back on tears after beating Sun Yiwen of China 11-7 in the final at the 18th Asian Games.

"She is the biggest pillar of strength in my life," Kang added. "She only used to like it when I won. But before I left home this time, she told me to just do the best I can and not press too hard to win."

Kang is ranked sixth in the world, a position that seemed unattainable to her only a few years ago, when Kang was struggling just to stay on the national team.

Kang had been on and off the team since 2009, and failed to qualify for the 2014 Asian Games at 29, an age when most fencers are in their primes. She made the national team soon after the 2014 Asiad and hasn't left since.

"I put in a lot of extra hours on my own, trying to work on things that I felt I needed to improve," she said. "Whether it was doing weights or working on my legs, I think those extra sessions helped."

The late bloomer said this just may be her final Asian Games appearance. She is married and is hoping to start a family, putting her chance to defend the gold medal in 2022 in jeopardy.

Kang could have gone up against teammate Choi In-jeong in the final, but Choi lost in the semifinals to Sun to settle for bronze.

"It would have been difficult for me to win gold if I had faced her," Kang said. "But it still would have been nice to meet her in the final because it would have given our country both gold and silver."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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