(Olympics) judoka-bronze medal
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| ▲ An Baul of South Korea poses with his bronze medal from the men's 66kg judo event at the Tokyo Olympics at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on July 25, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ An Baul of South Korea looks at his bronze medal from the men's 66kg judo event at the Tokyo Olympics at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on July 25, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ An Baul of South Korea (on top) takes down Manuel Lombardo of Italy to win bronze medal in the men's 66kg judo event at the Tokyo Olympics at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on July 25, 2021. (Yonhap) |
(Olympics) judoka-bronze medal
(Olympics) Inconsolable judo medalist thankful for family, teammates
TOKYO, July 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean judoka An Baul was inconsolable after securing a bronze medal in the men's 66kg event of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, contrite over mistakes he made in the past and thankful for the support he got from his family and teammates.
Tears kept flowing even as he tried to gather himself before speaking to reporters at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
"Everything that I went through to prepare for the Olympics came back to me, and I was just overcome with emotion," An said.
After winning silver at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, An got into some trouble away from the mat. In 2019, he received a six-month suspension from the national judo federation. An, who earned military service exemption from the 2016 Olympic medal, still had to fulfill community service hours requirements and was later found to have doctored a document to embellish his record.
"It's been a difficult journey to get to this point," An said. "But I couldn't give up because there were so many people helping me along the way."
An said he was thankful for a lot of people, including his rival and training partner, Kim Lim-hwan.
Kim lost out to An in a battle to qualify for the Olympics, but traveled to Tokyo to work out with An.
"Competing with him for all these years has motivated me," An said. "I've gotten to this point thanks to him. I am very grateful."
When asked about his family, An choked up with tears again and took a few moments before responding.
"Without my parents and my brother, I wouldn't have been able to overcome all the difficulties," An said.
An said he wished he would have had a chance to face Hifumi Abe, the Japanese star who went on to take gold medal Sunday.
An and Abe were on the opposite sides of the bracket and would have clashed in the final had An not lost to Vazha Margvelashvili of Georgia in the semifinal.
"I'd prepared for the Olympics believing I would face Abe at some point," An said. "I'll try harder the next time."
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