Choi Hong-man Won the Cheonha Championship in His First Year in the Pro-League

“Techno-Goliath” Choi Hong-man (23•LG Investment & Securities) won the “King of the Champions,” after defeating the “original Goliath” Kim Yeong-hyun (27•Shinchang Constructions).

The two giants confronted each other in the final round of the 2003 Incheon-Ceragem Cup Korean Wrestling Championship, held in Dowon gymnasium in Incheon on December 14. The result was Choi’s victory with the score of two to one after 40 minutes of a close contest. Choi recorded two wins, two ties and one loss throughout the entire tournament, winning the 41st Cheonha Championship, the “King of the Champions title, and 100 million won in his first year in the professional league.

Choi is 218 cm tall and weighs 166.8 kg, and Kim is 217 cm tall and 159.6kg. Kim is a veteran wrestler who dominated the ring from 1997 and won the 36th and 37th Cheonha Championships. Choi is the newcomer who dropped out of Donga University to compete this year. Before this game, the record was in Kim’s favor, with three wins and two losses against Choi.

It is intriguing whether the giants felt some burden from each other while they grabbed each other’s thigh bands. The first and second rounds ended in a draw due to the two-minute time limit. In the third round, Kim used his trademark pushing attack, securing a defeat over Choi.

In the fourth round, Choi fell down by Kim’s hooking attack on his left leg, which was declared invalid because the attack was revealed to have been outside of the ring. Choi won the re-match by a counter attack, tying the score at one to one. Finally, in the fifth round, Choi used a pushing attack to defeat Kim, who ran out of strength.

After winning the Baekdu Championship at Jinahn in April, Choi ascended to the throne of the Cheonha Championship in just eight months. Choi said, “I built up my physical strength before this Championship. I increased my jogging time, and that was the secret of my success. I will try to dominate the ring next year by reinforcing my technique without flattering myself.”

Meanwhile, the integrated final of Keumkang and Hanrah Championships held on the day before, Cho Bum-jae (Shinchang Construction) defeated “Tank” Kim Yong-dae (Hyundai Heavy Industries) with a score of three to two. Since he won the Hanrah Championship at Cheonahn in September 2001, Cho embraced the bull-shaped trophy and 30 million won in two years and three months.

Soon-Il Kwon stt77@donga.com