Jeong Ho-won wins boccia final for Korea's third gold in Paris

Jeong Ho-won beat Michel Daniel of Australia 5-2 in the men’s individual BC3 boccia final at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games on Monday in Paris to win his fourth gold and Korea’s 10th in the sport at the Games.

Jeong Ho-won, center, celebrates after winning the men’s individual BC3 boccia final at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games on Monday in Paris. [YONHAP]

Jeong Ho-won beat Michel Daniel of Australia 5-2 in the men’s individual BC3 boccia final at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games on Monday in Paris to win his fourth gold and Korea’s 10th in the sport at the Games.

Monday’s gold brings Jeong's Paralympic medal count to seven, having medaled at every Games since his debut in 2008. He has won four gold, two silver and one bronze.

Boccia is similar to the winter Olympic sport of curling in which players throw six balls at a white target ball called the jack, and the team, pair or individual that finishes with the ball closest to the jack score at each end.

Korea is a boccia powerhouse, and has won gold at the last nine Paralympics, starting with the 1988 Seoul Games.

There are a total of seven events depending on physical impairment and number of players. Six Koreans are up for a medal quest this year, two each in the BC1, BC2 and BC3 sport classes.

Jeong Ho-won’s gold is Korea’s fourth medal in boccia at this year’s Games. Jung Sung-joon also won a silver on Monday in the men’s individual BC1 event, while Jeong So-yeong secured silver in the women’s individual BC2 class and Kang Sun-hee bronze in the women’s individual BC3 class the day before.

With Jeong Ho-won’s latest gold, Team Korea now has 18 medals — three gold, seven silver and eight bronze — to sit in 14th place on the medal standings as of press time Tuesday.

Boccia and shooting have been the only two sports in which Korea has won gold so far.

Korea need to win seven more medals to surpass the total medal count they saw at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, at 24. The number was a decline from the 2016 Games, where the country claimed 35 medals.

A total of 83 Korean athletes are competing across 17 sports at this year’s Games.

Korea also has a chance to win a medal in team sports, with the women’s goalball team having reached the quarterfinals to face Turkey.

The knockout stage game was due to take place on Tuesday as of press time.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]