*This content was translated by AI.
With the women's junior (U-20) handball national team facing unexpected adversity due to the blockade protest at the Seoul Songpa-gu Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium ahead of their participation in the World Championships, Yoo Seung-min (44), President of the Korean Olympic Committee, personally visited the team to convey his encouragement.
The Korean Olympic Committee announced today that "Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) met with the women's junior handball national team's head coach and players, who are preparing to compete in the 25th World Women's Junior Handball Championship on the 22nd, to offer encouragement and urge them to perform well."
Recently, the handball junior national team faced significant inconvenience ahead of the tournament. Due to the Jamsil blockade protest, access to the gymnasium was restricted, hindering their tournament preparations. Furthermore, while visiting the gymnasium to locate equipment, some players were subjected to searches of their belongings by certain protesters. Ultimately, the handball junior national team had to change their training venue just days before the tournament.
Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) conveyed encouragement to the team and expressed regret over the recent inconvenience caused by rallies and protests around the handball gymnasium, which led to the team having to change their training venue. In particular, he emphasized the importance of ensuring the psychological stability and safety of the players, especially given that some players experienced unexpected situations during their training preparation.
Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) stated, "Players must be protected under any circumstances and should be able to focus solely on training and competition. I would like to thank the players and coaches who have diligently devoted themselves to training despite these difficult conditions."
He continued, "You are the future and hope of South Korean handball. Rather than feeling burdened by the results, I hope you will fully display the skills you have prepared, trust in one another, and approach the competition with pride as representatives of South Korea."
This handball junior national team will participate in the World Women's Junior Handball Championship, held from June 24 to July 5 in Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, China. South Korea has been placed in Group D alongside Turkey, Argentina, and Spain and is scheduled to play the group stage matches.
The Olympic Committee stated, "To prevent disruptions to the operations of member sports organizations and gaps in player support caused by recent restrictions on access to the handball gymnasium, we have been responding in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, and other relevant institutional investors. We continue to provide support to ensure that the national team's training and participation in international competitions proceed normally."
Kim Kyung-jin, head coach of the women's junior handball national team, said, "The players have remained steadfast and focused on their training despite difficult circumstances. We will do our utmost to showcase the competitiveness of South Korean handball on the world stage, drawing strength from the interest and encouragement of the Korean Olympic Committee."
The Olympic Committee announced, "Moving forward, we plan to do our best to support player protection and performance improvement to ensure that national team players can dedicate themselves to training and preparation for international competitions in a stable environment."
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*This content was translated by AI.
