Lee Won-ho (24, KB), a national representative competing
in the 10m air pistol shooting event at the Hangzhou Asian Games,
shoots with his left arm even though he is right-handed.
If the Right Arm Doesn’t Work, Use the Left Arm…
Lee Won-ho
Wonho Lee Pulls the ‘Golden Trigger’
When I was in high school, I suddenly developed a tremor in my right arm when shooting…
“Actually, I should have quit.”
I train to hold a dumbbell with my left arm every day… 안전놀이터
“The goal is to get a top score of over 85 points.”
“Actually, I should have quit.”
When he was in high school, for unknown reasons, his right arm, where he was shooting, suddenly started shaking.
Hangzhou Asian Games
Lee Won-ho met with reporters at the Hangzhou Asian Games shooting national team media day held at the Changwon International Shooting Range in Gyeongnam on the afternoon of the 5th and said,
“I felt like giving up due to the extreme stress I received when I started shooting with my left arm,” but said he was confident in this Asian Games.
He announced his goal to set the best record.
Won-ho Lee’s case is difficult to find anywhere in the world.
When asked, ‘What does changing the shooting arm mean to you as a shooter?’
Lee Won-ho concluded, “Actually, I should have quit.”
Wonho Lee calmly confessed, “When I first noticed tremors in high school,
I thought it was a simple injury caused by not exercising properly.”
Injury
Although he was diagnosed with shoulder impingement syndrome, which most shooting athletes have, his tremors worsened with each passing day.
He investigated nerve, muscle, and psychological problems at each hospital as to the cause of his tremors,
but he was unable to find the exact cause yet because he missed the time to be examined at a large hospital.
Lee Won-ho, who had even thought, ‘I should quit,’ kept holding the gun because of a word he heard from the audience.
“Isn’t he Wonho Lee? But why is he shooting like that?”
Lee Won-ho, whose pride was completely scratched, became determined and thought, ‘I can’t stop shooting like this.’
Left-Arm Shooting
His left-arm shooting, which he had only imagined, became a reality when he reunited with his middle school coach in college.
‘Let’s try it with the left arm.
Thanks to the coach who offered his hand and said, “I will help you a lot,” Wonho Lee began “heading from scratch” in the summer of 2018,
when he was in his first year of college.
In order to accurately aim at the target, his arms and shoulders must remain stationary while holding a pistol weighing about 1.5 kg.
Training Day
Won-ho Lee devoted himself to training, holding a 3kg dumbbell with his left hand and holding it until he could hold it,
regardless of whether there was a training day or not.
He gradually began to do things with his right arm, such as spooning, with his left arm, and now there is nothing he can’t do with his left hand except writing.
Still, it cannot be helped that I am right-handed to my core.
It is said that it is difficult to move the left hand as freely as the right hand, so even if a problem arises, it is difficult to fix it quickly.
Just like the right arm that trembles for no apparent reason, there are also concerns that the left arm may suddenly develop problems.
Maybe that’s why, ever since I started shooting with my left arm, I’ve never had a premonition that things would go well.
Right Arm
Won-ho Lee described the extreme stress he experienced during training as “to the point where I wanted to throw it all away,” and said without hesitation that if his right arm
was treated and the tremor went away, “I will shoot with my right arm again.”
Lee Won-ho, who said, “I’m just focusing on training,” is now hoping to pull the golden trigger in Hangzhou.
Won-ho Lee expressed his dream, saying, “I want to shoot at least 85 points,
which is my personal best, in international competitions.”
He said, “I am participating in the biggest major competition since I started shooting,
I want to be more helpful to my brothers who are participating in the team competition together,”
expressed hope that if he achieves the goal he has set, it will be possible to enter the medal range.