The Korean national team for the developmentally disabled is fiercely competing in the 4th VIRTUS Korea-Japan Exchange Program in Tokyo, Japan.
This exchange exhibition is a meaningful event to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan, and is even more meaningful in that sports exchanges between the two countries, which were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume for the first time in six years since 2019.
South Korea’s national team, which departed on the 15th, was led by SOK Chairman Chung Yang-seok in three events: table tennis (single), basketball (five-man), and futsal (five-man), with a total of 35 players, leaders, and executives participating to compete with the Japanese national team.
In particular, in the case of table tennis events, it is expected that it will be a good opportunity for talented Korean players such as Kim Young-min, Lim Soo-yeon, Lee Hwi-sung and Choi Soo-hwan, who are listed in the world rankings, to demonstrate their skills on the international stage. Japan’s national team Kato Koya and Yamamoto Mikiko are considered strong teams with solid power, and a thrilling match is expected between the two countries.
This exchange is expected to strengthen the international competitiveness and improve the skills of athletes with developmental disabilities, as well as lead the continuous development of sports for the disabled through mutual cooperation and information exchange between leaders and management. After arriving in Tokyo, the team visited Higashi-Kurume City Hall and had a conversation with Mayor Tomita Ryoma, and has been conducting official training and matches with the Japanese national team for two days from the 16th.
Special Olympics Korea Chairman Chung Yang-seok said, `I hope that this exchange will be an opportunity to further solidify cooperation and friendship between the two countries in line with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan”I hope that it will be a turning point for athletes to gain international experience and expand the base of physical education for the disabled.”
Team Futsal captain Lee Jun-seok said, “I was able to be selected for this national team because I did not give up and worked out consistently despite the difficult environment”As it’s my first time playing with the national flag, I’ll win and come back.”
Special Olympics Korea is the Korean branch of the Special Olympics International Headquarters (SOI), which organizes the Special Olympics World Games, and the Korean branch of the International Federation of Intellectual Disability Sports, VIRTUS.
VIRTUS (World Intangible Impairment Sport) is an international elite sports federation for athletes with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum, and Down’s syndrome, first established in the Netherlands in 1986. Currently, more than 90 countries are members, and South Korea was a member in 1990. VIRTUS operates 15 sports events in the winter and summer, and more than 7,000 registered athletes participate in international competitions.