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An San in Tokyo: The 20-year-old has already won two gold medals
Photo: ADEK BERRY / AFP
In archery, the team from South Korea has so far made a big impression at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
There have been three gold medals in three team competitions so far.
An San, who triumphed both with the women's team and alongside Kim Je Deok in the mixed competition, has a large share in this dominance.
In addition to winning her two gold medals, she also set a new Olympic record for female archers.
In their homeland, however, more and more young men are trying to steer the discussion away from their athletic performance and towards the appearance of 20-year-olds.
Her short hairstyle is being made a topic, especially in social media.
It is apparently an attempt to use the great attention to spread anti-feminist sentiment.
On Thursday, after An started in the round of 16 of the qualifying round for the individual competition, her trainer fought off "unnecessary" questions from journalists.
A reporter question about the toxic online climate interrupted An, saying they would only answer questions related to the games.
Growing anti-feminist movement
The accusation that is repeated over and over again on social media is that her haircut is "feminist".
In South Korea there is a growing movement of mainly young men who are critical of the increasing recognition of feminist positions and a policy of equal rights.
They fight against current politics and speak out loudly about their position in public - at least online.
But it was precisely through this channel that there were numerous expressions of solidarity with people from politics, celebrities and society.
"Shoot with your steadfast gaze through every prejudice in the world," tweeted the opposition politician Sim Sang-jung and assured the athlete of support.
Voices are also rising from the South Korean population calling on the national archery association to protect their athletes and to position themselves clearly against the people who attack them.
More than 300 people asked the association to act in posts on its homepage.
To replies on Instagram
It is nothing new for the Olympic champion to be approached publicly because of her appearance.
Her hairstyle became an issue in March when she uploaded a training video to Instagram.
When asked in the comments why she cut her hair short, An replied "because it's more comfortable."
While she deliberately blocked the topic from the media, she recently responded to her critics on Instagram: "While you sit in your rooms with your inferiority complexes and write messages, I win two gold medals at the Olympic Games."
tip / Reuters
