Harbin: South Korean Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee has opted out of the women's 500-meter race at the Asian Winter Games in China to concentrate on longer-distance events and relays, a national team official stated on Thursday. Shim aims to channel her efforts into the 1,000m, 1,500m, the 2,000m mixed relay, and the 3,000m relay events.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the men's team also saw a similar decision from Kim Gun-woo, who withdrew from the 500m to focus on longer races and relays. The Winter Asiad kicks off Friday evening in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, with the heats and quarterfinal short track races scheduled for earlier in the day. South Korea is aiming to secure six out of the nine gold medals available in short track, with all finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday.
Based on the performances in the national team trials held in April last year, the top three male and female skaters qualified for individual events in Harbin, while others were selected for relays. With Shim and Kim stepping back from the 500m event, Lee So-yeon and Kim Tae-sung will represent South Korea in the women's and men's 500m races, respectively.
The national team is hopeful that Shim and Kim Gun-woo's decision to conserve energy will pay off, particularly as the 500m heats are scheduled for Friday morning. They are looking to secure a medal in the 2,000m mixed relay, with semifinals in the afternoon and the final on Saturday morning.
Kim Gun-woo, who underwent surgery three months ago for a broken right ankle, was initially doubtful for participation in Harbin after his injury in November. Despite a few falls during training sessions earlier in the week at the Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Center Multifunctional Hall, he remains fit to compete, emerging uninjured from these incidents.