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Two-thirds of Koreans expect top-10 finish

July 18, 2012 - 19:49 By Korea Herald
More than two-thirds of South Koreans believe their country will finish in the top 10 in the medals table at the upcoming London Olympics, a survey showed Wednesday.

Gallup Korea said it polled 1,500 South Koreans over the age of 19 from June 14 to 29 on their expectations of South Korea’s performance at the Olympics, and 68.1 percent said the country will be able to crack the top 10.

South Korea is seeking to win at least 10 gold medals for its third straight top-10 position.

Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 80 percent of those polled had said South Korea would finish inside the top 10. South Korea ended up in seventh with 13 gold medals, its record for a Summer Olympics.

In this year’s survey, 17.3 percent said South Korea will be out of the top 10.

South Korea will be competing in 22 sports. And 61.1 percent of those polled said they are most interested in men’s soccer. The country is seeking its first Olympic soccer medal in its ninth attempt.

Swimming came in second place, with 37.7 percent of people showing interest. Male swimmer Park Tae-hwan will try to defend his Olympic gold in the 400-meter freestyle. Archery, which South Korea has dominated for nearly two decades at Olympics, was third with 16.7 percent.

The poll showed, however, that South Koreans are generally indifferent to the London Olympics compared to previous events.

Gallup Korea said 59 percent said they have at least some degree of interest in the London Games, down from 67.5 percent for the 2004 Athens Olympics and 63.7 percent for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Yonhap News)