Back to part-time jobs: Athletes in less popular sports face harsh realities
For athletes in less popular sports, life after the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games can be harsh. Once the competition is over, they must return to demanding jobs to make a living. Kim Geon-myeong, 32, a member of Korea’s kabaddi team, worked as a sanitation worker while preparing for the Asian Games, squeezing in training sessions before and after work even after making the national team. He took…
Life after the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games can be difficult for athletes in less popular sports, as they are forced to return to demanding jobs to earn a living. For instance, Kim Geon-myeong, a 32-year-old member of Korea’s kabaddi team, worked as a sanitation worker while preparing for the Asian Games. He managed to fit in training sessions both before and after his work shifts, despite already being part of the national team.
Kim's journey into kabaddi began when he was suggested to try the sport by his university senior, Lee Jang-gun, a senior and one of the country's leading players.
Kabaddi, however, has no professional teams in Korea, which means that national team members often hold different jobs. This makes it challenging even to coordinate team training sessions. Despite the sport's momentary rise to fame after winning a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games, the infrastructure surrounding kabaddi remains underdeveloped in the country.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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