Choi Ye-jin on the second-place step of the podium after the BC3 women's individual event in Seoul on Aug. 31KOREA BOCCIA FEDERATION
Boccia world No. 1 Choi Ye-jin took silver in the BC3 women's individual event at the World Boccia Championships in Seoul, one extra end short of a world title on home soil.
Choi, aged 35, lost the final 4-3 to Ladamanee Kla-han of Thailand at KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul. She scored a point in each of the first two ends, then conceded three in the third to fall behind. A point in the fourth forced an extra end, and there she could not knock out her opponent's ball.
Choi has been the face of Korean boccia since the 2012 London Paralympics, where she beat Jeong Ho-won 4-3 in the BC3 individual final. She was the first woman to win a Paralympic boccia gold in the class, which was open to both men and women at the time.
Choi also took silver with Korea in mixed pairs BC3 at Rio 2016. She returned to the top of the podium in pairs BC3 at Tokyo 2020.
Choi later went through a slump and failed to make Korea's team for the Paris 2024 Paralympics. She entered the Seoul championship ranked No. 1 in women's BC3 and reached the final on home soil.
Korean boccia player Choi Ye-jinKOREA BOCCIA FEDERATION
Korea closed the individual program Monday with that one silver. Choi A-young finished fourth in the BC2 women's event, and Kang Sun-hee went out in the quarterfinals of the BC3 women's event. Among the men, Jung Sung-joon in BC1, Jeong Ho-won in BC3 and Kim Kyung-soo in BC4 all failed to reach the semifinals.
Boccia is a ball sport for athletes with severe physical disabilities. A white target ball goes out first, then each side sends six balls after it, red against blue, and whoever finishes closest scores. The precision it demands invites comparisons to curling and archery.
Korea has won a boccia gold at 10 consecutive Paralympics, a streak that began at the 1988 Seoul Games.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
