The size of the North Korean athletes competing at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games has been revealed.

According to data released by MyInfo, the official information site of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee, on Wednesday, North Korea has registered a total of 191 athletes, including 112 women and 79 men, in 18 sports.

The number of athletes may fluctuate slightly through the process of replacing injured athletes.

They will compete in archery (3 men and 3 women), artistic gymnastics (3 men and 5 women), artistic swimming (10 women), track and field (6 men and 2 women), basketball (12 women), boxing (4 men and 5 women), canoe dragon boat (14 men and 14 women), soccer (22 men, 22 women), judo (3 men, 4 women), karate (1 man), shooting (6 men, 3 women), table tennis (2 men, 2 women), swimming (2 women), table tennis (3 men, 5 women), trampoline (1 man), volleyball (12 women), weightlifting (7 men, 7 women), and wrestling (4 men, 4 women).

The North Korean contingent is 23 more athletes than at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games (168). It is also 41 more than at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games (150).

By sport, men’s and women’s soccer have the most athletes, with 22 each, followed by canoeing and dragon boat.

The North Korean squad includes many of the same athletes who teamed up with South Korean athletes at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.

North Korean dragon boaters Kim Soo Hyang, Heo Soo Soo and Jeong Ye Sung will be reunited with South Korean canoeists Byun Eun Jung and Kim Hyun Hee for the first time in five years.

They made waves five years ago when they shared the Korean Peninsula flag and won gold in the women’s 500 meters and bronze in the women’s 200 meters, but this time around, they will be competing against each other in good faith.

North Korea’s Kim Jin-il, who was a key player in the men’s 1,000-meter dragon boat bronze medal, will also be back in action.

The North Korean women’s basketball team also has some familiar faces. Aces Roh Suk-yong and Kim Hye-yeon were part of the North Korean single team that won the silver medal five years ago.

The team, led by South Korean key player Park Ji-soo (KB) and North Korean star Roh Sook-young, battled China in the final, losing 65-71.

Five years ago, Park Ji-su and Roh Sook-young looked out for each other, but this time they were on opposite teams.

North Korea is hoping to win medals in its core sports of weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, and shooting.

In the highly anticipated weightlifting event, the country has registered all of its main athletes.

Gold medalists from the Jakarta-Palembang Games, Ri Sung Kum in the women’s 49 kg, Kim Il Kyong in the women’s 59 kg, Sung Kuk Hyang in the women’s 76 kg and Ro Kwang Ryol in the men’s 89 kg, are among the medal favorites.

The four athletes are highly anticipated, having been named among North Korea’s 10 best athletes in February.

In wrestling, Kim Sun Hyang, the bronze medalist in the women’s 50-kilogram freestyle at the Jakarta-Palembang Games, and Chung In Soon, who will compete in the women’s 57-kilogram category, stand out.

Women’s boxer Bang Chol-mi and shooter Kwon Kwang-il, an international regular, are also medal favorites.

North Korea finished 10th overall at the last Games with 12 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals, and will be looking to improve on that.

The Games will mark North Korea’s return to international multisport competition.

Since 2020, when the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spread, North Korea has closed its borders and boycotted sporting events.

The country unilaterally boycotted the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the ban has now been lifted and the country will be able to compete in Hangzhou.

North Korea has already applied to participate in the Games, which will be held in friendly China, as a way to make a comeback. 토토사이트