Taekwondo Da-bin Lee Held Back Tears and Blamed Herself
[Asian Games] Taekwondo Da-bin Lee Held Back Tears and Blamed Herself: “The Problem Lies with me”
“My opponent fought well, but if I had played better, I would have won, but I didn’t do that and lost.”
Lee Da-bin (Seoul City Hall), the star of the women"s taekwondo team who aimed for her third consecutive title at the Hangzhou Asian Games but unfortunately lost in the finals, held back tears and blamed herself for her lack of performance.
Dabin Lee lost to China"s Zhou Zeqi with a round score of 1-2 (9-8 2-9 8-21) in the final of the competition held at the Lin"an Sports and Culture Exhibition Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China on the 28th, taking the silver medal.
Lee Da-bin met with reporters in the joint reporting area after the game and said, "I am so disappointed.
I think I played a good game against a strong opponent, but there are many things I am disappointed about.
So I am very frustrated with myself and feel uncomfortable."
Lee Da-bin, perhaps feeling both regret over the loss and self-reproach for her performance, held back tears and said, “The opponent fought well too.
I wish I had done better, but I think I lost because I couldn"t do that.
He expressed regret, saying, “I think I need to make up for it well.”
Lee Da-bin said, “Because I had an injury, I did my best to prepare only what I could.
“I think the analysis of the opponent went really well,” he said. “In the first round, I put pressure on my opponent by taking a stance that was opposite to my original form.
“The strategy of using fist attacks and close combat to score points and take the initiative worked,” he said.
He continued, “However, in the second and third rounds, (the electronic protector) is an automatic sensor system, so it responds with resistance even if there is no direct hit.
It is disappointing that the flow continued in that way.”
However, he added, "If that was the opponent"s strategy, they came up with a really good strategy.
If I had responded more perfectly, such a situation would not have existed," and added, "Maybe the problem lies with me."
Lee Da-bin confessed that she was unable to fully concentrate on this competition due to a foot injury.
Lee Da-bin said, "I was able to train about three days before leaving (to China).
It was difficult to kick with my left foot at all.
I feel a little disappointed in that regard."
If she had won this match, Lee Da-bin could have become the first player to win three consecutive Asian Games since the 1998 Bangkok Games when the women"s individual Taekwondo event was introduced.
Vin, the winner of the 2014 Incheon (62kg class) and 2018 Jakarta/Palembang (over 67kg class) competitions, attempted to become the first woman to win three consecutive Asian Games in sparring, but she failed to overcome the final hurdle.
Currently, she is the only national team coach, Lee Dae-hoon, who was a star in Korean Taekwondo, to hold the record of three consecutive wins in the Asian Games for both men and women.
When asked if the situation of trying to win the tournament for the third time in a row was burdensome, Lee Da-bin said, "I thought it would be really burdensome, but it wasn"t.
People around me talked a lot, but I didn"t waver because I prepared with the goal of winning this tournament rather than focusing on winning the tournament for the third time in a row." He answered.