“If I don’t make the top three, it means nothing,” men’s golfer An Byung-hun said ahead of his second Olympic appearance.

Men’s golfer An Byung-hun (33, CJ), who will be participating in his second Olympics, is determined to prepare for the event with the goal of winning a medal.

In a video interview on the 9th (Korean time), An Byeong-hoon said, “I am very honored and happy to represent South Korea at the Olympics again.”

As of the third week of June, An Byung-hun, ranked 30th in the world, ranked second among Korean players and earned the right to participate in the Paris Olympics along with Kim Joo-hyung (22, Nike Golf).

An Byung-hun, who competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics and finished 11th, said he hopes to win a medal at the Olympics again after eight years.

“I think if I can show my golf without any pressure, I’ll have a chance,” he said, adding, “The Olympics are really useless if you don’t get in the top three. “It won’t be easy, but I want to prepare well and win a medal.”

In regular professional tours, you can get bonuses as long as you qualify, and there are generous rewards for entering the “top ten”. This is a kind of “motivation” that allows you to persevere to the end even if you are still far away from the championship.

On the other hand, there is no separate prize money in the Olympics. Since only the first to third place players can receive “rewards” in the form of medals, An Bingxun does not want to “return empty-handed”.

“I experienced the course held at the French Open in Paris a long time ago,” An Byung-hun said. “I remember it was difficult,” he said, stressing that “because it is not a course held every year, your level of preparation and adaptation is very important when you go there.”

He said that just because it was the Olympics, he didn’t use any special strategies.

“Golf is a sport that must be played for 72 holes, and you can’t make a plan even with players from the same country,” he said, adding that “instead of adopting aggressive strategies to win and rank, you should play like you normally do. “It’s important to be good at seizing opportunities and play safely when it’s dangerous,” he said.

An Bingxun has performed well this season. So far, he has entered the “top ten” five times on the PGA Tour and the “top five” three times, including the runner-up in the Sony Open.

He himself said he was happy with his performance this season. “Of course, there are obvious differences between good and bad golf days, but considering that it has definitely been consistent this year, I think I can give it about a 6 or 8 out of 10. “I’m satisfied that the bad days haven’t been too bad,” he said.

He withdrew after the first round of last month’s Travelers Championship and has completed his recovery.

“I played a few holes in the first round but I couldn’t concentrate and it felt difficult, like I had a cold, but I had no appetite and no strength in my body,” An said. “I don’t know why I was sick, but I felt like I had a virus.”

After recovering after adequate rest at home, An Byung-hoon will undergo final examinations at the Scottish Open, which opens this week, and the major tournament British Open next week.

“I have no intention of preparing for the Olympics in the remaining two games,” An Byung-hun said, adding, “I will improve my feeling as usual and prepare for the local Olympics.”

(Seoul = News 1)