CHUCHEON, Korea (Oct 5, 2024) - On the first day of the first World Taekwondo Junior Championships held in Korea for 20 years, Jaebin Jung made it an evening to remember for the host nation.
He overcame the challenge of Bulgaria’s Stanislav Mitkov in the men’s -63kg final to add to Korea’s rich history in Taekwondo. It was a most impressive performance throughout the day as he did not drop a round throughout the competition, and won both rounds in the match for gold by technical superiority.
Jung handled the pressure with admirable maturity, and explained how he sought to use his preparation to maximum effect and treat each match as a normal occasion.
“I think I liked it overall because it came out as I had practised. It was a competition that I am satisfied about,” he said.
“I just did as I usually do, but it seemed that the points were scoring very well.
“Only in the last moments, I saw there was a big points gap, so I started to do some spinning kicks.”
Jung has no shortage of illustrious Korean greats to take inspiration from. The one who has had the biggest influence on him is Changha Jang, a junior world champion in 2000 and silver medallist at the 2007 senior World Championships.
In Chuncheon, he followed in his footsteps and was crowned junior world champion.
“My biggest role model is my Master Changha Jang. When I entered in high school, he was my head coach, so that is when I met him,” Jung said.
“It was very overwhelming for me, especially when the Korean national anthem was played. I got so emotional.”
Jung has taken more than pride and a gold medal from this World Taekwondo Junior Championships.
Taekwondo’s increasing strength around the world has exposed him to more techniques and different styles of opponent. The event has provided him with vital lessons and an experience he will use for the remainder of his career.
“I saw some kicks that you never get to see in Korea, and I saw that there are a lot of very tall athletes, so that was very stunning for me,” Jung reflected.
“I want to do something about my strength with weight training and to get more physical resistance.
“This time, I experienced when I fought athletes from other countries that I am lacking in strength, so I need to reinforce that. If I want to continue competing and participating in competitions, I really need to be physically in a good state, so I am going to develop that further.
“That was the biggest thing I learned. I noticed I need to get better in that sense.”
Coming up next for Jung will be the Korean National Sports Festival from October 11-17.
He is close to making the step up to senior competition, and is targeting becoming an important part of the Korean team in the years ahead leading up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“First of all I want to become a senior Korean national team athlete, and further on I would really like to compete in the Olympics,” Jung shared.
“If everything goes well, I can compete in the [2025] senior World Championships.”
It has been a very successful World Taekwondo Junior Championships for Jung, and after this experience he looks well prepared to take the next steps in his career.
