Min-ho Jang, “Lack of sponsorship for disabled athletes… The gap in the environment of the athletes’ village is also disappointing.”

“I hope interest grows because of me”… Won 2 awards and had a beer with my future father-in-law

(Nagoya = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-han and joint reporters = Jang Min-ho (29, Anyang City Hall), who set a world record at the Asian Para Games, hoped that the interest in him would lead to increased support for sports for the disabled.

Min-ho Jang spoke about the reality faced by disabled athletes at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games (Asian Para Games) closing press conference held at the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled press center in Nagoya, Japan on the 24th.

He said, "Non-disabled athletes become a hot topic when they do well, but disabled athletes do not," and added, "Non-disabled athletes receive a lot of sponsorship from the federation and companies. I felt that disabled athletes are lacking in those areas as well."

Differences in training environments were also pointed out.

Min-ho Jang said, “It was very disappointing to feel the difference in facilities even in the athletes’ village,” and “I felt that the environmental standards of the Korea Sports Association for the Disabled Icheon Athletics Village and the Korea Sports Association’s Jincheon Athletics Village needed to be similar.”

Min-ho Jang won the men's 400m (sports grade T13) final on the 23rd, setting a world record of 46.24 seconds. This is a new world record in Korean athletics for the disabled after 16 years.

On the 20th, he won the men's 100m in the same class with a new Asian record of 10.48 seconds, and won two gold medals at his first Asian Para Games.

Jang Min-ho, who previously participated in the Asian Games held in the same place, expressed his gratitude for the support he received at this competition.

He said, "It was nice to travel by van, so I could go to my accommodation after the preliminaries, rest, and then come out. I was very disappointed with the meals during the Asian Games, but this time, they provided a 'convenience store on the go,' and there was a lot of Korean food."

He added, “There weren’t any complaints,” and “I received physical therapy and took good care of myself so that I could maintain my best condition, so I ended up with a good record.”

On the day he set the world record, his girlfriend and future father-in-law came to the stadium to cheer him on.

Jang Min-ho laughed, saying, "After the game was over, I bought him some delicious food. It was late, so we went to a restaurant that sold skewers and ate them. I also had a beer with him after the game."

He said, "I haven't given my parents an allowance yet, but I will earn more pension money and distribute it to my future father-in-law and mother-in-law."

Min-ho Jang's participation was achieved through collaboration with Anyang City Hall coach Tae-seok Kang, the Korea Athletics Federation for the Disabled, and the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled.

Jeong Jin-wan, president of the Korean Sports Association for the Disabled, explained, “We requested to be able to compete in T13 with a T12 record,” and added, “Based on sports diplomacy, we received approval from the Athletics Committee of the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The collaboration between the federation and the sports council worked well.”

After learning of his disability, Minho Jang did not want to publicize it, but he took on the challenge of disabled athletics in search of a new opportunity. He hoped that more players in the same situation as him would take on more challenges.

He hoped, “I hope that people will get more attention and get better because of me.”