"A player with a twist"... Hwang Seo-hyun, 'Surprise Asian Games Gold → Aiming for the LA Olympics,' Wins Prestigious Future Star Award [2026 Futures Star Awards]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Hwang Seo-hyun (18, Incheon High School of Physical Education), who wrote a new legend by winning the balance beam gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games for the first time in 40 years, proved once again that she is the certain future of Korean women's artistic gymnastics by receiving the Future Star Award.

The ceremony for the "2026 Futures Star Awards (Hosted and organized by StarNews, sponsored by the Korea Sports & Olympic Committee, Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, Korea Baseball & Softball Federation, Korea Basketball Association, Korea Volleyball Federation, Korea Sports Leisure Co., Ltd., and Palseok Mian)," now in its fifth year, was held at 3 p.m. on the 26th in the press conference room on the 19th floor of the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.

At the ceremony that day, Hwang Seo-hyun received the Future Star Award, which is given to promising next-generation players who will lead Korean sports.

Hwang Seo-hyun, a "little giant" with a height of 135 cm and a weight of 33.9 kg, confidently won the gold medal by scoring 14.700 points in the women's balance beam final at this year's Asian Games gymnastics competition. It has been a full 40 years since Korean gymnastics last harvested a gold medal on the Asian Games balance beam, following Seo Sun-ae at the 1986 Seoul Games.

Hwang Seo-hyun naturally formed a bond with artistic gymnastics when a gymnastics department was newly established at Yeongseo Kindergarten when she was seven years old. There were difficult times during her adolescence when she wanted to quit sports due to fatigue from boarding school life, where she came home only once a week, and the grueling training volume, but she endured by silently shedding sweat.

She has continued a steep growth trajectory, following her gold medal at the 2024 Tashkent Junior Asian Championships and her balance beam gold medal at the 2025 Jecheon Asian Championships, which was her debut on the senior stage, by winning team and balance beam bronze medals at this year's Junior Asian Championships. After focusing on the balance beam while attending e-School instead of regular school classes, she finally reached the top of Asia at this Asian Games.

Mother Oh Yun-hee, who visited the ceremony site in place of Hwang Seo-hyun, who participated in the World Championships held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, shared her unique feelings while recounting her daughter's childhood and difficult growth process. Ms. Oh recalled, "I started because a gymnastics department was newly established at the kindergarten she attended when she was seven," adding, "At first, I didn't know anything and just followed along, and she started exercising as if it were play."

Regarding the difficult moments she experienced, she continued, "Seo-hyun also struggled a lot when adolescence hit. She found it hard to live in boarding school and come home only once a week, and sometimes cried on the way to training saying she didn't want to go." She revealed, "I really wanted to stop her and bring her home, but since she had to do it, I soothed her gently and endured."

She also watched the games with anxiety at this year's Asian Games venue. Ms. Oh Yun-hee said, "Seo-hyun always had a twist. In international competitions, instead of advancing from preliminaries as 1st or 2nd place, she would stay in the back but rise to medal contention once she reached the finals." She added, "This tournament was such a big stage, but she kept falling off the balance beam during official practice. I thought, 'I hope she just takes it as experience and comes down,' but when she actually performed so well in the final and came down, I was truly happy."

Regarding the conversation they had immediately after the tournament, she added, "Rather than special words that others might think of, we briefly exchanged casual conversations like 'Mom was nervous, how were you?'"

Following her Asian Games gold medal and the Future Star Award, Hwang Seo-hyun's gaze now turns to the 2028 LA Olympics. Ms. Oh said, "Seo-hyun told me that after finishing this Asian Games, her goal became clear." She continued, "In a call yesterday, she said, 'Since my goal is now clear, I will work much harder than this year next year and the year after to reach it without injury.' As her mother, I told her that if there is anything I can help with, I will support her by her side until the end," silently cheering for her daughter's future.

The Futures Star Awards, hosted and organized by StarNews, are awards established for the development of Korean sports and the revitalization of amateur physical education. Starting with baseball in 2022, it is now in its fifth year.

This year, a total of 10 promising players across seven sports—baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, golf, skateboard, and artistic gymnastics—received the honor of winning awards.

2026 Futures Star Awards Ceremony

■ Winners and Prizes (Total 10 people)

◇ Baseball

Ha Hyun-seung (18, Kiwoom Heroes 1st round), 3rd year at Busan High School: Prize money of 3 million won

Lee Ho-min (18, KIA Tigers 1st round), 3rd year at Gyeongnam High School: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

◇ Soccer

An Ju-wan (17, Seoul E-Land FC), 2nd year at Sinpyeong High School: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

Jeong Hyun-woong (18, FC Seoul), 3rd year at Osan High School: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

◇ Basketball

Yoon Ji-won (18), 3rd year at Gyeongbok High School: Prize money of 3 million won

Yoon Ji-hoon (18), 3rd year at Gyeongbok High School: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

◇ Volleyball

Son Seo-yeon (16), 1st year at Sunmyeong Girls' High School: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

◇ Golf

Yang Yun-seo (18), 3rd year at Incheon Girls' High School Affiliated Broadcasting & Open High School: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

◇ Skateboard

Kang Jun-i (18), 3rd year at Yeongdeungpo High School: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

◇ Artistic Gymnastics

Hwang Seo-hyun (18), 3rd year at Incheon High School of Physical Education: Prize money of 1 million won and gift certificates worth 1 million won

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original