 |
[RC] FWD: Asian Games: South Korean dies during equestrian event - drnikisahak@xxxxxxxxxxxThis message was forwarded to you by drnikisahak@xxxxxxxxxxxx Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my) URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/8/sports/16262614&sec=sports __________________________________________________________________________ Friday December 8, 2006 Asian Games: South Korean dies during equestrian event TRAGEDY struck the Asian Games yesterday when an experienced South Korean equestrian rider died after his horse threw him from the saddle, then crushed him underfoot. The horse, Bundaberg Black, hit a fence and stumbled, tossing Kim Hyung-chil to the ground during the individual cross country competition. The mare fell on top of him and the Seoul resident, 47, never regained consciousness. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead soon after. The horse survived with no noticeable injury. The vice-president of the International Equestrian Federation, Chris Hodson, said: ?We have opened a formal inquiry into this tragic accident. I don?t want to speculate on the results of that inquiry until it is completed. ?To my knowledge, it is the first time this has happened at the Asian Games.? Hyung-chul was an experienced rider and had won a gold medal on Wednesday in the dressage event. He had competed in Olympic Games and was a silver medallist at the last Asaid in Busan in 2002. The chef-de-mission of the Korean contingent, Kim Young-hwan, said: ?We are all in a shock and feel very sad. There?s a chance of an accident at every event. ?It?s important to win medals but it?s more important that competitors are safe and return home safely. It?s a tragedy and many things are going through my mind at the moment.? South Korean Olympic chiefs demanded a full inquiry into the tragedy to discover whether or not the competition, held in pouring rain, was mismanaged. Their national Olympic committee president, Kim Jung-kil, said: ?We want to know if it was the rain or mismanagement of the competition. ?We talked to the Korean equestrian federation representative at the course and he said that the horse mistimed its jump and slipped. We have doubts over the schedule being too tight and the fatigue of the horses. The Games organising committee and the Asian equestrian federation should look into this matter.? Jung-kil was also furious that the competition resumed despite the death of his compatriot. ?We believe that the event was resumed a little too quickly,? he said. Despite the tragedy, the team have yet to decide whether or not they will continue in the rest of the equestrian programme, which runs until Dec 12. However, Jung-kil said that the rest of the huge Korean contingent will carry on with their gold medal push out of respect for their deceased teammate. ?Korean athletes feel they want to do their best in other events and reach the level expected by all Koreans,? said Jung-kil. ?That's what Kim Hyung-chil would have wanted.? Hyung-chil's family will arrive in Qatar today and the rider will be buried in the national cemetery in South Korea. It is the eighth death linked to the Asian Games but the first of an athlete. Last week, a 60-year-old Indian woman working as a volunteer died after being hit by a car as she crossed a busy, city centre street. On Wednesday, a man turned himself into police following the deaths of six young Qatari women who were killed in a car crash as they returned from watching the Asian Games torch relay. ? AFP __________________________________________________________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my Copyright © 1995-2006 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|