*This content was translated by AI.
Kim Ga-young (43, Hana Card), dubbed the 'Danggu Goddess' of the Women's Professional Baseball (LPBA), was selected as the best Korean female sports player in 2025.
Kim Ga-young won the grand prize at the 37th Yoongok Kim Management Women's Sports Awards held at the Seoul Olympic Parktel in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 26th.
The Yoongok Kim Un-yong Women's Sports Awards is Korea's first women's sports awards ceremony established in 1989 by the late Kim Un-yong, vice chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to successfully host the 1988 Seoul Olympics and develop Korean women's sports, and is presented to female athletes who have contributed to the development of Korean sports.
Kim Ga-young is the first billiard athlete to win the Yoongok Award.
Kim Ga-young is the best player in billiards with several titles of "first" and "best" at the same time. Kim Ga-young, who started her career as a pocket ball in her second year of middle school, has been the top player on the pocket ball stage, winning three World Championships (2004, 2006 and 2012) and two Asian Games silver medals (2006, 2010). He was the first pocketball player to win all four major world pocketball competitions and earn the title of "Pocketball Queen."
Since then, Kim Ga-young has challenged the LPBA by switching to three cushions with the launch of the professional team in 2019. Kim Ga-young also topped the three-cushion stage, setting the record for most wins (17 times) in seven seasons in professional baseball. In particular, he won seven tours, including 38 consecutive wins in the 2024-25 season, and also won the opening game in the 2025-26 season when the season changed, recording an unprecedented record of winning a total of eight tournaments in a row.
Kim Ga-young made 2025 the "Kim Ga-young's Year" by lifting the trophy in five tournaments on the 10 professional baseball tours held in 2025. In addition, Kim Ga-young won the Final MVP by leading his team Hana Card's two-time career championships in the recently ended "Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League 2025-2026 Postseason."
Yoon Gok-sang, the organizing committee, acknowledged that Kim Ga-young contributed greatly to making pro danggu a popular sport. Yoon Gok-sang, the organizing committee, said, "Even at this moment, it is a strong message of courage and hope to many female athletes in Korea who are frustrated by the limitations."
Immediately after winning the award, Kim Ga-young said, "My dream was to win the world's best position and to recognize billiards as a sport. "What was more difficult than getting to the top position was the process of being recognized as a sports player as a billiard player," he said.
"I don't think this award is an individual honor, but an award I receive with all my LPBA colleagues who have made the growth and change of women's professional baseball," he said. "Like previous seniors who have won the Women's Sports Grand Prize, I will contribute to the development of women's sports in Korea with all my heart and become an example for younger players."
Meanwhile, Kim Ga-young, Ban Hyo-jin (shooting, best award), Moon Soo-ah (swimming), Kim Tae-hee (athletics, excellence award), Park Jung-eun (basketball, leader award), and Park Joo-hee (swimming, achievement award) were awarded at the awards ceremony.
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*This content was translated by AI.
