"I'm more nervous than I was as an athlete," says Deputy Minister Jang Ji-ran, who supports unpopular sports

Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jang Jang-ran cheers for Park Ha-joon and Lee Eun-seo during the shooting mixed 10m air rifle bronze medal match at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Fuyang Throat Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, on Saturday.

"I'm more nervous watching from the stands than when I'm competing."

'Weightlifting heroes' Jang Jang-ran, Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has been quietly but busily travelling around Hangzhou, China, where the Asian Games are being held, cheering on the athletes. She has travelled to the venues of "under-the-radar" sports to inspire younger athletes.

After cheering on the women's artistic gymnastics team on the 25th, Zhang showed up at the shooting range on the 26th.

Park Ha-joon and Lee Eun-seo, who competed in the mixed 10m air rifle event, won a dramatic bronze medal after a shoot-off, and the Running Target team won gold in the team event, casinositerank.com allowing Jang to leave the venue in good spirits.

Speaking to News1 at the shooting range, Jang said, "I chose an event that I didn't think would get much attention. Yesterday, I went to the gymnastics stadium for the first time, and the athletes were nervous about falling from the average. Even though I had never seen them before, I was in tears after the competition. The female athletes were especially disappointed and cried, but I encouraged them, saying, 'If you're disappointed, go back and try harder,'" she said.

Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jang Jang-ran cheers for Park Ha-joon and Lee Eun-seo during the shooting mixed 10m air rifle bronze medal match at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Fuyang Throat Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, on Saturday.

Vice Minister Zhang has been to many international competitions during his career, but watching from the stands was a different experience.

"I was so nervous. I realised that it's not normal to watch someone else play, I'd rather play myself. I realised how my family, friends, and countrymen must have felt when I was playing," he laughed.

Vice Minister Zhang also expressed his support for the weightlifting team. The weightlifters will begin their campaign on the 30th with the women's 49kg and women's 55kg events.

"I know that the athletes have prepared very well so far. I hope they have the faith that if they do well in training, they will do well in the competition. If they do their best in the competition as they did in training, they will be able to achieve satisfactory results." gostopsite.com