While the return of Viktor Ahn (Korean name Ahn Hyun-soo), a former short track national team member, to Korea was canceled, major Russian media outlets encouraged him to return to Russia.
Sport Express, a famous Russian sports daily, published an article on the 1st (Korean time), “Korea doesn’t need Ahn Hyun-soo anymore. Why aren’t you coming back?”
The media said, “Ahn Hyun-soo applied for an open recruitment as a coach for the Seongnam City Hall Workplace Sports Team, which is the strongest short track team in Korea, but was rejected.”
“Ahn Hyun-soo gave up his Korean nationality and acquired Russian citizenship, and because of his past, where he taught Korean short-track rivals, Chinese athletes, public opinion in Korea shows a negative reaction,” he analyzed.
At the same time, he hoped to return to Russia as a leader, saying, “Ahn Hyun-soo can definitely help (Russia),” and “a fact that he proved not only as a player but also as a coach for the Chinese national team.”
From Russia to China and back to Korea… Tried to return but failed
Previously, Victor Ahn applied for the position of Sangnam City Hall ice team coach and tried to return to Korea, but failed.
Seongnam City held an open call for one coach for the vacant skating team last month, including Victor Ahn and former national team coach Kim Seon-tae.
However, controversy arose when the Korea Skating Leaders Federation issued a statement once morest Victor Ahn and former coach Kim.
The federation argued, “Victor Ahn received an Olympic gold medal pension as a lump sum before being naturalized from Russia, and former coach Kim was disciplined for falsely reporting Shim Suk-hee’s assault damage when he was the national team commander.”
As the controversy grew, Seongnam City excluded them from the final candidates. An official from the city said, “Through the screening of documents and interviews, various factors such as technology and communication skills were comprehensively judged.
Meanwhile, Victor Ahn is a Korean short track speed skater who won three gold medals at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. In 2011, when Seongnam City Hall, the team he belonged to at the time, disbanded the ice team due to financial problems, he naturalized as a Russian citizen to continue his career as an athlete, and won three gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Afterwards, following the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics were canceled, Viktor An announced his retirement as an athlete and turned into a leader, and worked as a technical coach for the Chinese national team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Former coach Kim led the Korean short track team at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, because of his career as a coach for the Chinese national team, controversy arose over taking over the Korean ice team.
※Weekly Chosun online article.