The athlete who is attracting the most attention at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games with his unique history of stepping on the stage of two Asian Games in succession is track and field athlete Min-ho Jang (29, Anyang City Hall, Sports Class T13).
There were many helpers by his side until he regained his dream of running track and field and won the Taegeuk flag in two competitions.
Min-ho Jang met with reporters at the Icheon Athletes' Village in Gyeonggi Province on the 6th and said, "I entered the village yesterday and started training today. It hasn't been long since the Asian Games ended, but the Asian Para Games is an important event for me. I was able to come this far thanks to the help of many people."
He ran as a 1,600m relay runner at the previous Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, and will compete in the men's 100m and 400m at the Asian Para Games held from the 18th to the 24th of this month. He is the first Korean player to participate in two competitions in a row.
He suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, which narrows his vision, and has improved his skills enough to be selected for both the disabled and non-disabled national teams.
Jang Min-ho loved running since he was young, but felt the limitations of his skills during his school days and quit his career as an athlete.
After graduating from college, I tutored elementary school students and worked as a physical education instructor and swimming instructor.
I wanted to run while following students' competitions and field training, but I was not willing to take on the challenge because of my livelihood.
The person who led him back to the starting line was his current girlfriend.
I met this special education teacher when I was working as a social worker at an elementary school, and we were friends at the time.
When Jang Min-ho was thinking about trying again three years ago, his girlfriend encouraged him by saying, "If you don't try now, when will you try? I hope you don't regret it."
Jang Min-ho said, "I was able to try again because my girlfriend gave me a lot of support. That was a turning point in my life." He added, "After three years, I still think, 'Life can change like this.' I'm trying to do my best in everything I do."
Next, when asked, 'Who liked him first?' he shyly said, "I liked him so I followed him around a lot."
I returned to athletics, but it was not easy to make a living while focusing on training. Even at this time, help from benefactors continued.
Coach Oh Gyeong-soo, a former national track and field team member, helped train in the morning at the center he runs and work afterwards to earn a salary.
His current team, Anyang City Hall, also gave him, who was an independent, an opportunity to train with their players, and later officially recruited him.
Help was also provided in preparation for participation in international competitions for the disabled. The ophthalmologist quickly prepared the English medical documents necessary for international sports classification, and the sports organization and national team assisted with the participation process.
Jang Min-ho, who developed his dream with help, has now become a player who gives others the courage to take on challenges.
As the story of her participation in the Asian Games with a disability became known, messages continued from people suffering from the same disease and saying they wanted to try becoming an athlete again.
He said, "I also received calls from people who had the same disease as me. There were also people who had other disabilities but wanted to try becoming an athlete again like me. I thought I wanted to be a source of hope for those people."
For Minho Jang, training for the 400m is a process of enduring pain. After high-intensity training, intraocular pressure rises and vision becomes blurred, causing discomfort in daily life.
Nevertheless, the reason I don't stop running is because my records are the clearest proof of my growth.
His ultimate goal is a gold medal and a new world record. In this competition, I will try to overcome my limits.
He said, "The charm of athletics is that you can see the process of overcoming your limits through records. That's attractive to me," and pledged, "When I stand at the starting line, I always do my best and run with the goal of a new record. This time, I want to run with the goal of a new record as well."
