Fútbol – Noticias hoy y resultados de Liga, Champions

Ayub Kalule, born in January 1954, is unanimously regarded as the gem of Uganda boxers. Among his significant amateur accolades are the Africa (Kampala), Commonwealth Games (Christchurch), and World Championship (Havana) victories all achieved in 1974. Kalule was crowned Africa Sportsman of the Year for 1974.

Kalule whose father was a Kampala butcher, was an excellent soccer player and sprinter when he was a schoolboy. But he soon came across and was intrigued by an article on Muhammad Ali. The impetus to box was also provided by his older brother Zaid who was a good amateur boxer. Kalule trained and practiced with his brother. Though Kalule is right-handed, he largely took on the boxing stance of Zaid who was a southpaw. Kalule would develop a good jab and hook.

While on a Uganda boxing team tour in Scandinavia, early in 1976, Kalule met Danish promoter Mogens Palle who offered to place him in the professional ranks. Within a month, Kalule left Uganda for Denmark, together with his wife Ziyada, daughters Marian and Zajida. Offspring later born, in Denmark included daughter Dauswa and son Sadat. Pressure had been placed on Kalule to remain in the amateur ranks, but his outstanding boxing success, the prospects of lucrative paychecks abroad, and the deteriorating political and economic climate during those years of the Idi Amin military regime, encouraged many Uganda boxers to leave for Europe. Some of the other pugilists who left Uganda in the 1970’s to box in Europe include Vitalish Bbege, Shadrach Odhiambo, Mustapha Wasajja, Cornelius Bbosa-Edwards, and Joseph Nsubuga. But it was also an era in which the numbers of Africans entering the professional realm was accelerating. Many Kenyan and Nigerian boxing champions also migrated for the lucrative fighting opportunities.

Kalule debuted as a professional pugilist in April 1976 in Copenhagen. Contrary to popular belief, he was not part of the Uganda team that was selected for the consequently boycotted Olympics in Montreal (July 18- 31, 1976). The Uganda team for Montreal included John Baker Muwanga (bantamweight), Venostos Ochira (light-flyweight), Adroni Butambeki (flyweight), Cornelius Boza-Edwards (featherweight), David Ssenyonjo (lightweight), Jones Okoth (light-welterweight), Vitalish Bbege (welterweight), and John Odhiambo (light-middleweight). And though listed, Boza-Edwards (future professional world champion) had already migrated to England and even represented England in at least three dual tournaments in early 1976. They were against Ireland, Denmark, and USA, and Boza-Edwards won in all of them.

In November 1977, Kalule became the leading contender for the World boxing Association (WBA). However, it would be nearly a full two years later, even after suing and legal action by Kalule’s management, that Kalule would be given a chance at the title. Mogens Palle would spend $20000 on traveling and pressing the WBA to maintain Kalule as number one contender and give him a shot at the title. The WBA was recognized as an extravagant, carefree, and flashy «fraternal club of Latin Americans» manned principally by Panamanians who had lucrative ties with apartheid South Africa and the Far East. The WBA sanctioned ridiculous title bouts, while blocking boxers that were far highly ranked. Mogens Palle would charge:

«These WBA people are all liars. Unless you send them mail that is registered, they claim they never receive it. You ask… for the rules, and they say they’ll send them, but… never do. You ask for justice… they say be patient… They don’t want anyone to have the rules, so no one will know when they are breaking them. When only the top people have the rules, they can play any game they want.» (Putman 1981)

Kalule became the Commonwealth middleweight champion when he knocked out Al Korovou of Fiji in May 1978 in Copenhagen. His biggest crown was his win over the Japanese Masashi Kudo whom he defeated in Tokyo, in October 1979, for the WBA junior-middleweight belt. His shot at the world title, for which he had been the foremost contender for more than a year, had for long been overdue. Kalule successfully defended his title four times, all the bouts in Denmark. At this time, apart from that one time in Tokyo, Kalule had never fought professionally outside Denmark. Kalule had, after tennis star Bjorn Borge, become the next renowned sports celebrity in Denmark.

The boxing world was quite divided as to who would win in the bout between 24 year-old «Sugar» Ray Charles Leonard and undefeated 27 year- old Kalule. Leonard had watched tapes of Kalule boxing and he said that he was, «quite impressed with Kalule’s constant attack; he fights with determination.» (AP 1981: 9)

Kalule’s strength lay in his being ambidextrous, in his strength, in his hard body, and in his stamina which were major factors in his wearing down opponents. But Kalule was more of a body-banger than a head-hunter. Though undefeated, Kalule’s knockout record was not excellent. Kalule had knocked out 18 of his opponents in his 36 professional bouts. And though impressed with aspects of Kalule, 5’10» Ray Leonard regarded 5’9″ Kalule as merely an advanced amateur fighter who in the ring stands straight-up in typical European style and goes directly to his opponent. And according to Leonard, Kalule was not fast enough in the ring. Though Kalule respected Leonard’s skills and status, Kalule was disappointed that popular Leonard was being treated as a Muhammad Ali, while he himself was being treated as the mediocre opponent and underdog.

While Leonard acknowledged that Kalule was a fit and well conditioned boxer who would be difficult to beat, the American predicted that he would end the fight within 10 rounds. On the other hand, renowned trainer Bob Arum was apparently Kalule’s biggest booster. He remarked, I expect it to go 15 tough rounds and I expect people to be standing at the end waiting to hear who won, and that winner being Kalule» (UPI 1981: 13). Kalule who had never been knocked down in a professional bout was adamant that Leonard had never faced an opponent like him, and that he would take his title back to Denmark. Kalule trained for much longer hours in the gym than did Leonard. Kalule’s trainer Borge Krogh, and his masseur Tage Nielsen were confident about their Ugandan fighter. Leonard, the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion would be attempting, in the quest for Kalule’s title, to become boxing’s only current dual title-holder. Impressive Leonard had only lost one fight in his professional career–a loss to legendary Roberto Duran of Panama.

In December 1979, in Denmark, 25 year-old Kalule defended his newly acquired WBA junior-middleweight title against American Steve Gregory who happened to be ranked third in the world. Gregory was also a sparring partner of Ray Leonard, both under renowned coach Angelo Dundee who was in Gregory’s corner during the fight with Kalule. Some suggested that Gregory was deliberately matched and sent over to Denmark as a test for the possible future Kalule vs. Leonard bout. Though Gregory was undefeated and highly ranked, he had not been as tested in the ring with tough opponents–he was the underdog.

Kalule outclassed and would out-point Gregory, whose hand became injured in the first round and who spent most of the time back-pedaling or hanging against the ropes, by a wide margin. The winner would take home an impressive $80000, and the loser grossed $40000. The world championship bout with Leonard, which was broadcast on short- circuit television, took place at Astrodome in Houston, amidst a crowd of between 25000 and 30000, on 25 June 1981. Leonard was guaranteed gross earnings of at least $2.5 million; while Kalule was guaranteed at least $150000. This would be Kalule’s greatest fight. Surprisingly, Leonard was in the first and second round the attacker of the solidly built Kalule. Leonard was the faster and more agile of the two boxers. This enabled him to hit Kalule as the champion struggled to figure Leonard out. Leonard’s compact jab convincingly penetrated Kalule’s defenses. The third round differed. Later on it would be revealed that a left hook delivery to Kalule’s head had resulted in the bruising of Leonard’s middle finger. The handicap would became permanent. Though the injury was troubling, Leonard valiantly attacked Kalule in round four, even dazing him a couple of times. Finishing Kalule off still remained hard, as Leonard seemed to ran into a brick wall each time he tried to subdue Kalule. The powerful exchange demonstrated just how unyielding and sturdy Kalule was.

Into round five, Kalule would establish control, mostly with his right hand. In round seven Kalule delivered a right to the challenger’s head. The blow knocked the Leonard off-balance. The challenger did recover, but Kalule gained confidence. Kalule exerted more toughness in the eighth round; Leonard was tiring and Kalule was establishing the upper hand. The ninth round was interesting. The pugilists looked exhausted but determined. The non-stop and no-holding exchange that had continued from the beginning of the bout did not show signs of waning.

Sturdy Kalule went on absorbing the challenger’s faster and more accurate punches in exchange for champion’s bruising, ambidextrous, and unpredictable blows. However the challenger did seem to sense that given the formidability of Kalule, the best solution would be for him to take the risk of delivering a quick flurry of combinations that would potentially disable Kalule. Leonard seemingly sensed that strong Kalule was also getting tired and slowing down. Near the end of round 9, Leonard delivered a series of hard combinations that seemingly confused the champion. A flash right hand knocked Kalule to the ground into a sitting position. He did not seem to be unduly hurt. He got up at the count of six, and backed up to the ropes of the neutral corner to further recover. The referee looked into Kalule’s face as he continued to count. Though Kalule stood up straight, the referee might not have been convinced that Kalule was ready to continue fighting. Kalule, who had heretofore never been knocked down and was probably temporarily at loss about how to react, did not raise his gloves to his face and step forward from the ropes to indicate as is the tradition, that he was ready to continue. The referee waved off the fight! Kalule appeared to be stunned by the stoppage, he shrugged his shoulders and arms in a protesting stance.

Most spectators probably opined that the fight was stopped prematurely, especially given that it was a global championship bought and given that Kalule was conscious enough to continue. Also, before the referee stopped counting, the ninth round had ended… but the bell was not rang. Ultimately, the fight was ruled as having been stopped at 3 minutes and 6 seconds of the ninth round. Kalule had hence been entitled to a minute-long stool corner interval, before moving on to the tenth round. Was the stoppage deliberate or otherwise a case of language miscommunication between Kalule and the Panamanian Spanish-speaking referee Carlos Berrocal who was also an assigned judge in the fight? Also one of the two-ringside judges was a Panamanian (Harmodio Cedeno), the other one was a Puerto Rican (Ismael Wiso Fernandez). And this was USA territory, popular Sugar Ray Leonard was a golden Olympian, one regarded as Muhammad Ali’s successor in terms of speed, skill, antics, and looks. Before the fight was stopped, the referees had scored Leonard as ahead by a couple of points: Berrocal (78-76), Cedeno (78-76), Fernandez (78-75).

Would Leonard have defeated Kalule if the fight had been allowed to continue? Probably. But though Kalule’s side was partly disappointed about the seemingly pre-mature stoppage of the fight, they were graceful about it and even conceded defeat. Kalule had planned to mount a full attack on Leonard after the ninth round, but then the knockdown had derailed the plan. Kalule, with his reserve of stamina was accustomed to fighting full bouts to the end. This was a 15-round title fight. Kalule conceded that Leonard was physically stronger than he had expected, Leonard admitted that Kalule was one of the best fighters that he had encountered. At this point only Roberto Duran of Panama had blemished Leonard’s record. Leonard would later in the year, in September 1981, defeat fellow American Thomas Hearns and be crowned USA Boxer of the Year. The fight with Kalule was regarded as a build-up for the fight against Hearns. A photo of Ayub Kalule fighting Ray Leonard graced the cover of «Sports Illustrated» of 6 July 1981.

After the fight with Leonard, Kalule would continue to fight at an average of three bouts a year–mostly in Denmark. He failed to recover the WBA junior middleweight title when he was knocked out in the tenth round by American Davey Moore in the middle of July 1982 in New Jersey. In November also in Atlantic City, in a non-title bout with Jamaican legend Mike McCallum, Kalule retired in the seventh round. In July 1985, in Copenhagen, Kalule won the vacant European Boxing Union (EBU) middleweight title when he knocked out Pierre Joly from Martinique. In December Kalule successfully defended his EBU title with a split decision win over legendary Sumbu Kalambay from Congo. In September 1986, in Sheffield, the Ugandan lost the title to Herol Graham when he was knocked out in the tenth round. This spelled the end of Kalule’s professional boxing career in which he impressively won 46 fights (23 knockouts), lost 4 (all by knockout), and drew none. He now lives in Uganda.

Works Cited

AP, «Sugar Ray Calls Foe ‘Advanced Amateur’.» Milwaukee Sentinel, (23 June, 1981).

Putman, Pat. «Fighting the Rulers of the WBA.» Sports Vault Illustrated (23 March 1981).

UPI. «Leonard, Hearns Fight Tonight.» Logansport Pharos-Tribune (25 June, 1981).

World Cup Slime Soccer is like actual soccer in general, the difference is slime soccer is two dimensional, with 1 (semi-circular) player on every team, tiny nets, a wall on each side and a quite smaller field. You have an option to play with two players for a minute, two minutes or eight minutes. Plus you can have a chance to play another by pressing «World Cup». If you see a line under each net, do not go on the one under your net for too long because if you do, you will be «pinged» and your opponent will earn the point.

During the qualifying round, the game will be played against either with Argentina, Belgium, Australia, Iceland, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Cameroon or Denmark. It will be a 30 seconds game and not that hard to beat, especially if you know some soccer ball tricks and how to beat it. Primarily, do not go and grab the ball easily, instead, let your opponent to bring it to you. Have the patience to wait for it. One bet soccer tip is at a right time, with appropriate jump, it will go into the net. If it’s in the air, no better trick awaits your opponent.

In the quarter finals, the game will be played against Denmark, Ecuador, Mexico, France, USA, Italy, Japan or Russia. It is a two minutes game with extra time if deemed to be necessary.

For the Semis, it will be against either with Russia, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa or South Korea. Same with 2 minute game with extra time if necessary but this time more defensive and smarter.

In the finals, the game is against either with South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Brazil, and England, Germany or funny thing called the Night Elves. It is a 5 minute game.

Did You Know…

Qatar is sometimes called the «Olympic paradise» in the world. In this Arab country you can feel the Olympic atmosphere: many children competing in athletics, tennis, football, volleyball, basketball, karate, gymnastics and judo. Cylist legend Eddy Merckx said, «Qatar as a country pushes for sport. No other country in the world is doing what Qatar is doing for sport – especially for kids. As a child, sport is a great school of life. It shows you that just talent is not enough – you also have to work very hard. If you’re a lawyer, you stay a lawyer for life. As a sportsman or sportswomen, you have to start every season at the beginning again. It’s hard to become the best, but it’s even more difficult to stay the best year after year.» Certainly, Qatar – it is about the size of Hawaii- has one of the best sporting systems outside of the industrialized world.

The Arab athlete Saif Saaeef Shaheen won the gold medal in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris, France. There were celebrations for Qatar, after he won the gold medal. Saif Saaeef Shaheen wrote history for Qatar becoming the first Qatari to win a world championship in the Olympic sport.

Qatar qualified for the 2007 Handball World Championship. It was the third time that Qatar had qualified for a World Cup. Under the direction of Ekrem Jaganjac, Qatar`s national coach, the Qatari team defeated Australia 36-22. «In Qatar, there are no outstanding players, but there are many enthusiastic young ones, and I concentrate all my work on them», said Jaganjac, who was a member of the enlarged Yugoslav team for the Summer Olympics in 1972.

Doha was scheduled to host the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1995.

Ahmed Ibraheem was the first runner to represent Qatar at an Olympic track event when he competed in the 10,000 metres and 5,000 metres at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad in Seoul (South Korea) in 1988.

The Qatari football team finished sixth at the Olympic Games in Barcelona (Spain). In the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Football Tournament 16 men`s teams competed in four rounds (preliminaries, quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals). Under the brilliant leadership Mubarak Nooralla, Qatar defeated Egypt (African champion) 1-0 in the first round. Qatar represented Asia in the quarters finals, but was eliminated by Poland, one of the best teams of Europe. The Olympic players were Ahmed Khalil Saleh, Hamad Al-Atteya, Rashid Shami Suwaid, Zamel Essa Al-Kuwari, A-Nasser Ali Al-Obaidly, Waleef Bukhit Maayof, Mubarak Nooralla, Juman Salem Johar, Mahmoud Yaseen Souf, Fahad Mohd Al-Kuwari, Adel Mulla Al-Mulla, Mohd Al Mohannadi and A-Aziz Hassan Jaloof.

Doha -the country`s capital and largest city- is one of the most modern sporting cities in the world. It has many sports facilities.The Khalifa International Stadium is the nation`s largest stadium. It is one of the most beautiful and modern stadiums in the world. Doha is also the home of the Hamad Aquatic Centre.

This Asian country organized the 1999 Handball World Junior Championship. There were 17 teams: Denmark, Sweden, Egypt, France, Yugoslavia, Spain, Russia, Greece, Tunisia, Portugal, Croatia, Qatar, Brazil, Israel, Norway, Hungary and New Zealand.

Doha hosted the Asian Games in December 2006. The opening ceremony on 1 December was held at the Khalifa International Stadium before a crowd of more than 50,000. At the 2006 Asian Games, Sheik Mohammed Bin Hamad Al -Thani, a Qatari horseman, did the honors of carrying the Olympic flame and lighting the torch. A record number of 45 countries and territories participated in the event. The Olympic village was home to 10,500 sportspeople.The competitive programme included 39 sport events: archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, bodybuilding, bowling, kayak, chess, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, field hockey, judo, kabaddi, karate, rowing, rugby, sailing, sepaktakraw, shooting, softball, squash, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, triathlon, tennis, volleyball, beach volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wushu and wrestling. These Asian Games will be remembered for its excellent organization and hospitality. The success of the Asian Games was result of the combined efforts of the Qatari government and the organizing committee (Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee). The Asian Games are the second largest international sporting event after the Summer Olympic Games.

The Qatari athlete Musa Obaid Amer finished fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Olympic Games in Athens, the capital city of Greece.

Qatar won the second place at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Cup in Sydney (Australia). Qatar`s qualification for the finals was one of the greatest surprises.

Talal Mansoor made history at the 1994 Asian Games by winning three gold medals (100m, 200m and 4x400m relay).

The Asian Cup, the continent`s top football tournament, was held in Qatar in 1988.

Doha is officially bidding for the 2016 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. As chairman of the Doha Bid Committee, Hassan Ali Bin Ali said: «A lot has already changed in Qatar and in particular Doha, in the last 50 years. If we were granted the opportunity to stage the Olympics and Paralympics in 2016, it would not only allow us to further develop the city’s infrastructure but also to use the power of peaceful sporting competition to create understanding, hope and change that could unite the entire region with the rest of the world. Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Doha would bring the Olympic flame to the Arabic-speaking world for the first time, extending the Olympic ideals to millions of new hearts and minds».

Andres Sebastian Soria Quintana is one of the most talented footballers from Qatar. He came to Doha from Uruguay as a footballer professional and got Qatari nationality just in the time for the 2006 Asian Games. He was born on November 8, 1983 in Paysandu, Uruguay (South America). He is symbol of multiethnic Qatar.

Said Asaad is one of the greatest weightlifters in Qatari sports history. He won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. Like Mohammed Sulaiman (track and field), Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (shooting), Jaber Salem (weightlifting), Talal Mansoor (athletics), he is one of the country`s most respected personages.

Qatar is the home of the ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence. It is one of the world`s leading elite sports institutions.The Academy has four departments: Sports, QESA (Quality Management ,Education and Social Affairs), IT (Information Technology) and Administration. These centers provide accommodations, coaching training facilities, Olympic studies and medical care for students from Qatar and the Third World. The Academy also participates in international sports exchanges and has signed official sports exchange agreements with Third World countries. This center is one of the most beautiful sports installations in the world. Andreas Bleicher, Sports director at ASPIRE, said: «We have always looked to position ASPIRE as an international academy whose primary focus in sports in Qatar. A major part of our approach has been to evaluate talent at on early stage and look to bring out the best in our young sportspeople. This intense, local focus has been matched by a global process of talent identification».

The Qatari team won four gold, five silver and eight bronze medals during the Asian Games held in South Korea in 2002.

Mohammed Sulaiman became the first Qatari sportspeople to win an Olympic medal at the Olympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. His achievement was greeted with joyful celebrations in the country. He also participated in athletics in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta (USA). He was one of the best Arab and international runners of the 20th century.

Qatar was one of the 160 countries who participated at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Republic of Korea. It participated in one sport: track and field. Some of the athletes were: Saad Mubarak (4x100m relay ), Talal Mansoor (100m), Faraj Marzouq (4x100m relay), Ismael Mohammed (800m), Mohammed Ahmed (1,500m), Ahmed Ibraheem (10,000m and 5,000m) and Rashid Marzouq (110m hurdles).

Mubarak Hassan Shami, one of athletics greatest performers, won a silver medal in the marathon at the IAAF World Championship in Japan in 2007.

The Qatari delegation competed in the 2007 Arab Games held in Cairo (Egypt), and won 14 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals.

The Qatar Sports Club is considered one of the most beautiful and modern clubs in the world.

From 2000 to 2007, a large number of famous athletes visited Qatar. They included: Diego Armando Maradona (football), Haile Gebrselassie (track and field) and Nadia Comaneci (gymnastics).

The Qatari athlete Ibraheem Ismael was finalist in the 400m at the 1992 Olympics.

The Doha IAAF World Super Tour 2007 was the largest sports even in Qatar after the Doha Asian Games in 2006 and the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1995.

Khalfan Ibrahim Khalfan Al Khalfan is one of the most honourable athletes at present. In 2006, he was named Football Player of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). He was born on February 18, 1988 in Doha.

Hassan Ali Bin Ali (chairman of the Doha Bid Committee) is an ardent supporter of the Olympic ideal and work hard on the promotion of the Olympic movement in Qatar.

The World Table Tennis Championship took place from March 1st to 7th 2004 in Qatar.

Qatar made its Olympic debut at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles (California,USA) in 1984. It qualified 27 sportspeople in three sports: athletics, football and shooting.

The Qatari basketball team, with star players such as Hashim Zaidan Zaidan, Seleem Abdulla, Daoud Mousa Daoud and Erfan Ali Saeed , beat out the powerful South Korea team to win bronze medal in the 23rd Asian Championship that were held in Doha.

The state of Qatar won 6 medals at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing (China), which counted with the participation of 6,122 athletes from 37 countries. Overall, Qatar ranked eight, after the People`s Republic of China, South Korea, Japan, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia.

I -Eva Peron, Korea and the Olympics

Before Korea became one of the most industrialized nations on the entire Asian continent, Argentina -it is about 26 times the size of SK- was one of the world’s six richest countries. Around the same time, they were getting off on the right foot in the Olympic Games.

Argentina -now a football-loving nation- was home to sixty percent of Latin America’s Olympic winners-aquatics, boxing, polo, rowing, track-field. At the 1948 London Games, they finished 13th in the medal standings. In contrast to its neighbours, Argentina had an Olympic champ to cheer in that year , when Delfo Cabrera won a gold medal. On that occasion, Korea was certainly not lucky,and finished 32nd in the medal table. Korea’s first Olympic national team was formed in the late 40s. But Koreans dare to dream the impossible.

At the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, the host country finished first in the count medal- where America was ousted from the number one spot for the first time in Continental Games history by Argentina.

But Argentina is now history. In the last Olympics, the Latin American nation only won two golds-soccer & cycling. Ironically, Argentina-where there are snow-mountains- has never won an Olympic medal in the Winter Games. Then, in April 2009, the Bolivian men’s soccer squad upset team Argentina, which was trained by soccer player-turned-coach Diego Armando Maradona, 6-1.

Different from Argentina, Japan, Australia and Canada, SK is ranked among the five best Olympic teams, along with China, America, Russia and Germany. This superb team is a paradigm on Earth.

Korea expects to send about 50 champs to the XXI Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. The country’s athletic rulers also expect to send 250 champs to the London 2012 Olympics.

II-A Small Nation With A Big Ambition

From my perspective I think that South Korea is the most successful Olympic nation in history. Now SK became a source of inspiration for many Olympic countries around the world. Certainly, it is a role model for small countries -from Austria to Brunei Darussalam- and multiparty States -e.g. India, Taiwan, Chile, Peru, Argentina.

The Republic of Korea, also known as South Korea, is about the size of Indiana. More than 49 million people live there-it is not far off the total in Ukraine. Unlike Venezuela-it has had the benefit of high oil prices, Peru and Angola, Korea has few natural resources. This nation does not have oil, diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, gas, and uranium.

But in the last decades of the 20th century, the Korean State introduced an industrialization program and expand education. The rulers devoted more than 20 percent of its national budget to the development human-education, culture, welfare, sports. Now SK has one of the world’s strongest economies.

III-The Difficult Years

In the 1940s and 1950s, SK was a war-torn nation-World War II and Korean War. Because of this, it became one of the world’s poorest nations. After World War II ended 35 years of Japanese domination and Korea gained its independence (1948).

From 1950 to ’53 nearly three million Koreans died. On the other hand, there were, 500,000 Koreans living overseas. In the following decades Korea was governed by military warlords. In the 1990s SK became a democratic nation.

IV- A Nation of Sports Lovers

During the 1960s and 1970s, the rule introduced many sports reforms -a strong emphasis on physical education into educational system- and did many things to improve sporting life in the nation-an official policy that continued in the 1990s and 2000s. In just a few years, they also promoted the sports that were not well-known in the country.

Success came slowly at first. The number of Asian awards increased from around 27 in 1958 to more than 65 in 1978. From 1964 to ’76, the country’s champs earned 12 Olympic medals. Another example, Korea’s boxers, led by Moon Sung-Kil, won many global titles in the 1980s.

Unlike Cuba -which had a lot of coaches from the USSR, East Germany, Bulgaria, North Korea and Poland- SK did not have foreign coaches. All its Olympic awards were produced by Korean coaches.

To support Seoul’s bid to host the 1988 Olympics, the Korean chairmans hosted many international events -the 1979 Shooting World Championships, the 1982 Baseball World Cup, the 1982 Boxing Global Championships and the Korea Cup (volleyball)-and built world-class stadiums.

V- The Boycott Against South Korea

During Cold War, especially between 1950 and 1985, Korea was an isolated Olympic nation. This Asian country was considered an international pariah by the World Marxist and several anti-American states (Korea became a UN member in 1991).

The 1979 Seoul FIBA Women’s World Championships were boycotted by the Soviet Union and its allies. Three years later, Cuba’s boxers, world & Olympic champions, were not allowed to compete in the World Cup by Fidel Castro. That same year, Cuba also did not send baseball players to the World Championships in South Korea.

In 1986 North Korea boycotted the Asian Games. The Democratic People’ s Republic of Korea refused to send champs to SK. Subsequently, the XXIV Seoul Summer Olympic Games were boycotted by seven nations-Albania, Cuba, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Seychelles. However, the sports officials sent several champs to Moscow, Varna, Havana and Prague.

VI – Seoul Olympic Games- A Gold Medal for Korea

During the IOC Session in Germany in 1981, Seoul was selected as host country for the 1988 Summer Olympics, and began a new era for the country’s sports development. Seoul beat Nagoya, Japan’s city. That decision caused surprise around the world.

Thirty-eight years ago, Seoul had been destroyed by Korean War, but it had been rebuilt in record time. In the ’70s and early ’80s, Seoul was a successful host to several international tournaments.

The IOC awarded Seoul the Olympics by a margin of 15 votes. Kim Un-Yong -one of the world’s best Olympic czars- was a key figure behind South Korea’s bid to host the 1988 Summer Olympics. He was runner-up when Jacques Rogge was elected IOC chairman.

SK, an anti-Marxist state in the 20th century, did not have full diplomatic ties with the World Soviet-which had won the last three Olympics- and the People’s Republic of China-the new Olympic member. Moscow could have boycotted the Games in South Korea.

Secondly, Korea was not a multiparty-state on the Asian region. In 1980, a demonstration organized by the pro-democratic groups turned into the bloody riot known as the «Kwangju Massacre». In 1974 South Korea’s First Lady had been assassinated. Some time later, ruler Park Chung Hee was killed by the head of South Korea CIA in Seoul.

At the 24th Summer Games, SK won 12 gold medals and was one of the four best sports teams on the planet.

The Opening ceremony was spectacular. The next day, the photos were seen all over the world and from that moment the name Korea was known everywhere. Meanwhile, representatives from 159 countries attended the Olympics, including the USSR and China.

Seoul’88 was a political-blow to the Communist Movement. The Kremlin sent 514 champs to the 1988 Games. That travel had the blessing of the Soviet regime, which had boycotted the Summer Olympics in the States in 1984. Then, more than 290 champs -e.g Petra Felke, Heike Drechsler, Kristin Otto- were sent by the East German warlords- a landslide victory for the Korean chairmans. But there were other friends too: The Vietnamese rule allowed champs from Vietnam to attend the Summer Games. Certainly, sports was an important diplomatic tool for Korea.

VII- Democracy & Sports

In the country’s first multiparty presidential election, in December 1992, Kim Young Sam -a passionate human-rights advocate-, was elected, and the Asian nation returned to civilian rule. It was a watershed moment.

Now South Korea is one of the most outstanding democracies -human development and democracy- in Asia and a role model for several post-dictatorship states. From then on, Korea has one of the world’s most ambitious educational projects-many young people study more than 11 hours.

Under the new democratic rulers, SK has reinforced its sporting system. Certainly they wanted to be the centre of excellence in Asia. The Olympic Korean team surprised the world when it emerged as a «new world power» in the 21st century. On the other hand, the country staged successful 2002 World Cup and 2003 World University Games.

In the two-year period between the 2006 Winter Games and 2008 Summer Olympics, Korea won 42 awards (19 golds, 13 silvers, 10 bronzes) and finished five in the unofficial team standings, behind China, Russia, Germany and the U.S. Korea’s delegation was backed up by President Roh Moo-Hyn. In addition to the Olympic and world titles, South Korea has won several Asian gold medals. They competed with 45 countries in the Olympic-type Asian Games.

Before the 1992 Winter Olympic Games, Korea had not won any medal. Without the sporting tradition of Czechoslovakia and Sweden, Korea has more Winter Olympic medals than Spain and Japan. For this reason, the government lent its support to a bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics. In Guatemala City, Pyongchang was only beaten for the Winter Games by Sochi (Russia).

VIII- From Archery to Wrestling

Since the 2000s Korea is powerhouse in aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, handball, judo, shooting, short-track, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling,and other sports.

Archers With Olympic Honours

Korea has produced world-beating archers in recent years. From 1984 to 2008 they have won 16 gold medals. The country’s archers, inspired by Seo Hyang-Soon, won 3 of the 4 events at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

Athletics-Fusion of Past, Present and Future

In the first half of the 20th century, two Koreans, Suh Yun Bok & Ham Kee Yong, won the Boston Marathon. In 2001 Bong-Ju Lee became the first non-African to win the Boston Marathon since 1991. The country’s marathon runner Hwang Young-Cho – one of Korea’s most well-known champs- claimed a gold medal at the 25th Summer Olympics in Spain. Hwang is the second sportsman from an Asian nation to win an event in this competition. Korean-born Kijung Son won the Olympic title in 1936. At the Berlin 1936 Games, he had been forced to run in the colors of the occupying Japanese forces.

Badminton-Stage of Stars

Since 1985 SK became one of the world’s best teams. Lee Yong-Dae and Lee Hyo-Jung defeated Lilyana Natsir and Nova Widianto (Indonesia) in the mixed doubles final at the China Summer Olympics in 2008. Korea placed first at the 1996 Olympic Badminton Tournament in the States-it collected two gold and silver medals.

Baseball- SK vs Cuba

Baseball has come a long away in South Korea. Its greatest year was 2008, when Korea won the gold at the Beijing Olympic Games, beating Cuba, former world champion (1984-2005). Eight years ago, they had earned a bronze medal in Sydney 2000. When the Games were opened in China, the States-2007 world champion- and Cuba were contending odds-on favorites.

The year 1982 was very happy for Korea too. That year they became the first Asian team to win a World Cup. The national team came close to winning the Global Championships in 2005.

Women’s Basketball-Asian Superstar

Surprisingly SK was runner-up at the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Czechoslovakia in the late 1960s.In 1979, Korea, host country, placed second at the Global Championships. They caused an upset in the second round of the World Cup by beating the favorite America (94-82). Four years later, Korea was one of the semi-finalist in the Universal Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil-behind the USSR, America and the People’s Republic. But they did not stop there. The following year it earned silver at the Summer Olympic Games in California, USA. The team became the first women’s basket team in Asia to win an Olympic award.

Fencing-New Olympic Awards

In 2000 Young Ho Kim lived up to reputation as one of the most popular Asian fencers by winning a gold medal at the Summer Games. He is the first fencer from an Asian country to win an Olympic title.

Field Hockey- A Major Asian Talent

In the past few decades, the Korean teams have won three Olympic silver medals. During this period of time, SK became the first Asian female team to qualify for the Olympic finals. The national men’s team won silver at the 2000 Sydney Games and were fourth at the 2002 World Championships. In Australia they, spearheaded by Song Seung-Tae, defeated India (2-0), Poland (3-2), and Pakistan (1-0) before losing to the Netherlands (4-5). Amazing silver medal!

Women’s Handball- Two Olympic Golds

This country is the only successful Asian team in the world. In 1984 they became the second Korean players in history to win a team Olympic medal at the Summer Games.

In 1988 Korea made history when it won the Olympic gold medal without ever having won a World Cup title. The national team, host country, became the first non-European handball team to win a global title in history. After the winning the Asian Tournament in 1990, Korea qualified for the 1992 Olympics and won its second Olympic medal in a row.

At its fourth Olympic appearance, they claimed silver medal at the 26th Olympiad-only Denmark could beat SK. During the 14th Asian Games in 2002, Korea won both the men’s and women’s handball tournaments. This sport was completely unknown in the 1960s.

Judo- A Gold Mine for Medals

From 1981 to 2007, Korea has won a total of 21 gold medals in the World Championships. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, the national team won seven judo medals (2 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes), behind only Japan (8 awards). In 1981 Park Chung Hak became the first judoka in SK to win a world trophy.

Short-Track Speed Skating-New Olympic record!

SK is the only country to have 17 Olympic gold medals. At the 2006 Turin Winter Games, the national team dominated the medal table, with a total of 10 awards (6 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medals).

Shooting-Surprises

In Barceolona’92 it earned two Olympic golds, Lee Eun Chol (men’s free rifle) & Yeo Kab Soon (women’s air rifle).

Soccer- Cha Bum-Kun, the Legend

According to Park Pil-Soon, Director of the Korean Olympic Committee, soccer is the most popular sport in the country. «The most popular sport in Korea these days is football. While baseball used to take the top spot in terms of popularity and the number of spectators in the past, football gained many fans after the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which we hosted with Japan. Korea advanced to the semifinals, which made us very excited about this sport».

In the early 80s, Korea placed fourth at the FIFA Junior World Cup and became the second Asian football team to qualify for the semi-finals in a global tournament.

They have qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1986. At the 2002 Japan-South Korea, Cha Bum-Kun became one of the best football players on the planet. Korea has won five regional tournaments (two Asian Cups and three continental gold medals). At the 1948 Olympics in the UK, South Korea placed 8th.

Swimming- The Road to Bejing

Park Tae-Hwan became the first swimmer in SK to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games when he won the men’s 400m freestyle at the 29th Summer Olympics in Beijing (China).Park’s first major international success came at the 2007 FINA World Championships, where he won a gold medal. The Korean star is the country’s pre-eminent sporting icon.

Table Tennis- A Traditional Sport

This sport is one of the oldest sports in the nation.In the early 1970s, Korea made history when it won a gold medal in the Global Tournament. Between 1987 and 1993 it also earned four world trophies.

Taekwondo-Unbeatable Records

Some famous taekwondo athletes have born in South Korea: Hwang Kyung-Seon, Kim Kyong-Hun, Lee Sun-Hee, and Moon Dae-Saung.

For many decades these athletes were unbeatable in the world. Korea has won more than 140 world titles (1975-2007). They have also dominated the Olympic Taekwondo Tournament. Since 2000 it has won nine golds.

Volleyball- A Strong National Team

This sport is one of the most popular in the country. In 1987 the national team claimed the FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship in the Persian Gulf, and was the third Korean team to win a global title since 1977.

When they arrived in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, the Korean team was not favorite.Some time later Korea defeated Brazil, which won the silver medal in 1984, 3-2 (19-17, 15-8, 6-15, 11-15, 15-12), at the Olympic Men’s Volleyball Tournament. In the late 70s, Korea was semi-finalist at the World Championships in Italy. In the qualifying rounds, they defeated Poland, Olympic champion, 3-1 (15-7, 11-15, 16-14, 15-10).

The Korean women’s national team have also won many international trophies. Between 1973 and 1977 they earned three world bronze medals.

Weightlifting- A Dark Horse

In 2006, Jang Mi-Ran, 2004 Olympic silver medalist, broke the world record in the + 75 kg category in the Middle East.

In the early 90s, Chun Byong Kwan, an unknown weightlifter, came to the Barcelona Games and won the Olympic trophy.

Wrestling-Heroes of the Games

Korea’s wrestlers have a long tradition of winning awards. In the mid-60s, Sun Jang Chang earned a gold medal at the World Cup in the States. He became one of the first Koreans to win a global title. In the last decade of the 20th century, the national team won nine universal awards.

IX – Man Bok Park- A Superb Coach

Despite attractive offers from many nations, he remained in Peru. In the mid-1970s, Man Bok Park came to Lima and became one of the world’s best coaches.

Led by Park, Peru was runner-up at the 1982 FIVB World Championships and silver medal at the 24th Summer Olympics. Korea’s Man Bok Park became the first coach to lead a Latin American female team to the Olympic finals in 1988. In 1980 Cuba, Olympic’s favorite, failed to qualify for the semi-finals at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Under the advice of Man Bok Park, the Peruvian women’s volleyball squad defeated Brazil several times and won more than six South American Championships. After the Golden Age for Peru, country’s volleyball team were never as successful again at the World Championships.

X -Young Wang Sonh’s Legacy

But Man Bok Park was not alone! At the same time, the Argentine men’s volleyball squad was trained by Young Wang Sonh.This South Korean is a pioneer of Argentina’s volleyball.Young Wang Sonh led the South American team to win the bronze medal at the 1982 Global Championships.

He has become the most successful coach in the history of Argentine volleyball.

Today Argentina is producing an ever-increasing number of world-class coaches-Julio Velasco (Italy), Jon Uriarte (Argentina & Australia), Carlos Cardona (Puerto Rico), Marcelo R. Mendez (Spain), and Raúl Lozano (Poland).

XI -A Statistical Comparison

SK: 2006 Winter Olympics

Nation……….Gold……Silver…..Bronze…Ranking

SK………………..6………..3……….2…………..7th

Italy………………5…………0………6………….9th

France………….3…………2……….4…………10th

China…………..2…………4………5………….14th

Japan…………..1………….0………0………….18th

Asian Games Medals

Hosts…………Gold……Silver…….Bronze….Total…Rank

Doha 2008……58………52…………82………192……..2

Busan 2002….96………80………….84………260……..2

Bangkok’98…..65………46…………53……….164………2

Japan’94……..63………56…………64………..183……..3

China’90……..54………54………….73…………181……..2

Korea’86……..93………55………….76…………224……..2

India’82………..28…….28………….37………….93………3

Bangkok ’78…..18…….13………….23………….54………2

Iran’74………….15…….14………..17…………..46………5

Bangkok’70…….18…….13………..23…………..54………2

Bangkok’66…….12…….18…………21…………..51……..,2

Jakarta’62………4………4………….7…………..15……….5

Japan’58………..8………7………..12…………..27………3

Manila’54………..8………6…………5…………..19………3

XII -References

Almanaque Deportivo Mundial 1976, Editorial America, 1977

Almanaque Deportivo Mundial 1977, Editorial America, 1978

El Grafico. «Este Podio Vale una Lagrima y un Grito», 19 de octubre de 1982

Guevara Onofre, Alejandro. «Historia del Deporte en America Latina»

————————-«El Deporte en el Sur»

Leipziger, Danny & Thomas Vinad. «Las Bases del Exito del Asia Oriental», Revista Finanzas y Desarrollo, marzo 1994

White, Peter. T. «South Korea: What Next?», National Geographic, September 1975

Yun-han Chu, Larry Diamond, Doh Chull Shin. «Halting Progress in Korea and Taiwan», Journal of Democracy, January 2001

1988 Seoul Official Report Volume 2, IOC, 1989

2000 Sydney Official Report Volume 2, IOC, 2001

2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games Official Results,IOC, 2007