Lim Ae-ji, who secured the first medal in women’s boxing, “I only think about winning the final”

Quarterfinals, strong Arias wins by decision, ‘first’ manufacturing machine since World Youth Championships. Restoring stagnant Korean boxing pride, bronze medal even if losing semifinal tomorrow. “12 years ago, coach Han Soon-chul will release the silver”

Lim Ae-ji is delighted after her arm is raised during the decision after finishing her match against Yenie Arias (Colombia) in the quarterfinals of the women’s 54kg class boxing match at the Paris Olympics on the 2nd. With the victory, Lim Ae-ji became the first Korean female boxer to win an Olympic medal.

“Before the quarterfinals, people around me said, ‘If I win one more time, I can win a medal,’ but at that time, I said, ‘I’ll win all three matches. ’”

Im Ae-ji (25) arrived at the mixed zone (joint press area) after winning the quarterfinals of the women’s 54kg boxing class at the Paris Olympics on the 2nd and said, “I’m only thinking about winning the finals.” Im Ae-ji also showed off her bubbly 20s side by posing while wearing the Olympic ring-shaped glasses she had prepared in advance.

Im Ae-ji defeated Yeni Arias (34, Colombia) by decision in the quarterfinals that day and advanced to the semifinals, securing a bronze medal. Olympic boxing does not have a third-place match. Both losers of the semifinals are awarded bronze medals. The fact that Im Ae-ji said she would win all three remaining matches before the quarterfinals means that her goal is to win a gold medal.

On this day, Lim Ae-ji set another ‘first’ record for Korean women’s boxing with her quarterfinal victory. It is the first Olympic medal for Korean women’s boxing. Lim Ae-ji won the round of 16 two days ago on the 31st of last month, giving Korean women’s boxing its ‘first Olympic victory’. Three years ago, at the Tokyo Olympics, she made her mark as the first Korean women’s boxer to compete in the Olympics. She was eliminated in the round of 16 at the Tokyo Games. In 2017, when she was a third-year high school student, she won the World Youth Boxing Championships. It was the first international competition win for a Korean women’s boxer. This is why Lim Ae-ji is called the ‘pioneer of Korean women’s boxing.’ Lim Ae-ji said, “I was the first Korean women’s boxer to win the gold medal at the World Youth Championships, and it was very meaningful to hear that I was the first, but it’s even better to be the first Korean women’s boxer to win this title.” She also said, “It’s great that Korean boxing won an Olympic medal after 12 years, but it’s even more meaningful to be the first Korean women’s boxer to win a medal.”

Lim Ae-ji said she was honestly scared before the quarterfinals against Arias. Arias, a typical infighter, is a strong player who received the second seed out of 22 players in the 54kg class of this competition. Players who are considered to be more skilled are given a higher seed number. Lim Ae-ji did not receive the seeding that is given to up to 8 players.

However, once the match began, Lim Ae-ji quickly and diligently moved her body, making it difficult for her opponent to land a punch. Lim Ae-ji, a left-handed outboxer, kept a reasonable distance and waited for an opportunity to land several punches on her opponent’s face. Arias had a hard time finding an opportunity to attack.

After the match, Lim Ae-ji said, “My opponent is a powerful player by nature. I made a lot of strategies before the match. I went into the match thinking that I should focus more,” and “When I saw that my opponent’s attacks were out of sync, I thought that the match was going at my pace.” This is the first Olympic medal for Korean boxing in 12 years. This is the first time since the silver medal in the men’s 60kg class at the 2012 London Games. At that time, the silver medalist was coach Han Soon-chul (40) of the boxing team who is coaching Im Ae-ji. Im Ae-ji promised Coach Han that she would definitely give him a medal before the Olympics. She kept her promise by winning the quarterfinals. After securing the bronze medal, Im Ae-ji said, “I’m happy that I think I helped develop Korean boxing.” Now, she wants to win both the semifinals and the finals and give Coach Han a gold medal. 바카라게임