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| ▲ An San of South Korea holds up her gold medal from the women's individual archery event at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on July 30, 2021. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ An San of South Korea holds up three fingers to signify her three gold medals from the women's archery competition at the Tokyo Olympics during the medal ceremony for the women's individual event at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on July 30, 2021. (Yonhap) |
(Olympics) archer-critics
(Olympics) Archer lets three gold medals do talking vs. online abusers
By Yoo Jee-ho
TOKYO, July 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Olympic archer An San recently became a target of vicious online attacks for keeping her hair short, mostly coming from those who believed An's look meant she was a feminist.
For some reason, that designation has become associated with misandry in South Korea. Anti-feminist groups even began calling on An to return the two gold medals she'd already won at the Tokyo Olympics.
It wasn't immediately clear how aware An had been of the situation leading up to her individual event on Friday. It ultimately didn't affect her performance, as An, 20, made history by capturing an unprecedented third gold medal of the Olympics.
An refused to address the situation on Friday. When asked for her response to those cyber attackers, An said, "I will not answer questions about anything other than my performance."
Back home, progressive lawmakers have condemned misogynistic attacks on An. Other supporters for the archer have called on the Korea Archery Association (KAA) to protect An.
An did let on that she received a phone call from KAA President Chung Eui-sun on Friday morning.
"He told me he trusted me and said a few words of encouragement," An said, without elaborating further.
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