When it comes to young athletes obviously competing beyond their age, the first thing that comes to mind is the African continent. It is quite hard to believe that the stocky, dark-skinned bearded men, who sometimes attend international competitions, are fifteen or sixteen years old. But getting to the actual metrics of a footballer born in some village in Nigeria is sometimes impossible, and sports authorities have to act on the basis of the documents provided. The most interesting is the story with athletes from South Korea, which until recently few people knew about. The country is known for its adherence to traditions, and one of them had a direct impact on the achievements of Korean representatives in the international arena, and, oddly enough, for the worse.
The magic of numbers
The tradition was that a newborn boy was immediately considered one year old. And a further increase in age did not occur on a birthday, but on the New Year according to the lunar calendar. Thus, according to the documents, any Korean made himself a year, or even almost two, older than his real age.
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Because of this, young South Korean athletes immediately found themselves on an unequal footing with their competitors in competitions, being forced to compete with competitors older than themselves. Yes, passports with the date of birth were provided for international competitions, but the selection was carried out according to internal rules, for which the Korean authorities, in fact, punished themselves.
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At the youth level, such a difference is sometimes decisive; suffice it to recall the recent embarrassment of the Russian youth football team, which is in fact a youth team, in a match with the Belarusians, who fielded an under-21 team corresponding to the state of the match. But if in our case this measure is of a character experimental during the absence of international tournaments and is not associated with changes in the documents, then such a long persistence of the Koreans in an obvious error causes nothing but bewilderment.
Whats Next?
Now, after the final transition to the international system, Korean society is waiting for a long restructuring process. And if ordinary citizens of the country have the opportunity to once again celebrate their eighteenth birthday or some kind of anniversary can cause a smile, then many athletes, including those who have already completed their careers, have been somewhat saddened by the collapse of the ages. old traditions, you will probably be even sadder to realize how much was lost in your youth due to a similar system of counting.
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Without success at the youth level, there will be no great victories in adulthood, and if, for example, South Korean archers don’t care much about competing with older, younger or their peers, then where there is no such superiority initial, a lot has been lost. Now a new round will begin in South Korean youth sports, and there will be nothing surprising if, in a few years, the representatives of this country will make a breakthrough on the international arena.
