Short track No. 1 Park Ji-won and Kim Gil-li Advance to the World Championships... Opens on the 15th



Park Ji-won competes with national teammate Hwang Dae-heon... Lin Xiaojun also participates, Kim Gil-li challenges for his first individual medal at the World Championships... Fontana's return

Short track men and women's 'World No. 1' Ji-won Park (Seoul City Hall) and Gil-li Kim (Seongnam City Hall) will participate in the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track World Championships, the last international competition of the 2023-2024 season.

The two players plan to reaffirm their world-class skills by participating in the World Championships, which opens in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the 15th (Korean time).

Park Ji-won is the face of the Korean men's national team, which has maintained its top spot in the world since last year.

He ranked first in the world rankings for the 2022-2023 season ISU World Cup Series, and had the best time by winning two individual gold medals at the World Championships held in Seoul in March last year.

Park Ji-won ran without hesitation this season as well.

He ranked first in the overall rankings in six World Cup series this season and won the Crystal Glove, which is given to the world's No. 1 player, for two consecutive years.

Park Ji-won's confidence ahead of the World Championships is great.

In an interview with ISU released on the 13th, he said, “Competing with the best players brings out the best skills,” and “Competing with the best players is always welcome”

His biggest competitor is his national teammate Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Office).

Hwang Dae-heon, who returned to the national team this season, was unable to play in the entire World Cup series due to chronic back pain, but his skills are evaluated as not rusting.

Daeheon Hwang considers all players as competitors regardless of nationality.

Dae-heon Hwang committed a serious foul by pushing Ji-won Park, who was running ahead of him, from behind in the final of the second 1,000m race at the first World Cup held in October last year, and was given a yellow card (YC) and forfeited all points. https://www.casinositeking.com

This year's tournament will feature top athletes, including naturalized Chinese citizen Lin Xiaojun (Korean name Lim Hyo-jun), Olympic gold medalists China's Saolin Shandor Liu and the Saoang Liu brothers, and Canadian phenom William Dan Danjiu.

In the women's division, Kim Gil-li challenges for supremacy.

Kim Gil-li is the next-generation ace of Korean women's short track racing, following Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall).

He stepped up as her new ace in the 2023-2024 season, when Choi Min-jung returned her Taegeuk mark for her personal training, showing off her extraordinary skills.

Gilly Kim took first place overall in the women's division, far ahead of her strong rivals in this season's ISU World Cup Series, and lifted the Crystal Glove along with Jiwon Park.

Her connection to the world championships is not significant.

Gilly Kim did not win a single medal in the individual competition at the World Championships held last year at home.

This was because she could not overcome experience and physical strength issues.

However, Gilly Kim has grown by leaps and bounds this season.

In particular, explosive power became Kim Gil-li's trademark the moment he exited the out-course and immediately took the lead.

Gilly Kim aims to win her first individual medal at the World Championships through this competition.

Her competitors are many.

All of the world's top players, including Netherlands' Schijner Swilling and Canada's Kim Boutin, were listed on the participation list.

Italian short track legend Ariana Fontana also attracts attention by announcing her participation.

Fontana, who has won a total of 11 Olympic medals, has been in conflict with her country's ice skating federation and has not competed in any international competitions since the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. She announced her return through this competition.

Athletes will compete in the men's and women's 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m, and relay preliminaries on the 15th, and the men's and women's 500m and 1,500m medal races on the 16th.

The medalists for the men's and women's 1,000m and relay events will be announced on the 17th.