Brain cells age faster than body cells. There are quite a few athletes who maintain their skills even past the age of 40, but the performance of professional players often drops sharply from the age of 30.
That is why the existence of Won Seong-jin (38), 9th Dan, who maintains his uprightness even at the age of 40, is special. As captain of the KB League, he has been very active in almost all previous matches, such as being at the top with 12 wins and 7 losses. He also reached the 1000th career win mark last week. He met ‘One Punch’, ranked 8th among 420 domestic pros.
– This year, it has already passed 40 editions. Are you physically okay?
“Sometimes I find it difficult. There was an 11-game losing streak in the spring of last year, but it was due to excessive power. Unlike when I was in my teens and twenties, I always have to pay attention to my physical condition.”
-Many juniors say in every interview, “It is my wish to last as long as Master Won.” What advice would you give them?
“It is my creed to be cool in reality and positive about the future. Above all, it should be enjoyable. If you play with a grateful heart every time, your grades will follow.”
-Can you tell a knight who keeps losing to have fun?
“When I fell to 22nd place in 2019, people around me comforted me by saying it was because of my age. Of course, it’s good intentions, but if you get drunk with consolation, you can’t win. I signed up for the gym right away. As a result of giving up all other work and focusing only on the game, he returned to the top 10 in 14 months. Age is just a number or a shell.”
-You are one of only 3 people who defeated Shin Jin-seo this year.
“It was a game where we competed at super speed in the middle of the night with the most accumulated fatigue from each other… . Anyway, it was a valuable victory that will be remembered for a long time.”
– Last week, you surpassed 1,000 wins in your career after 25 years of joining.
“I was the youngest when I joined in 1998, but time went by so quickly. When he was young, he was often compared to other knights his age and was under a lot of stress. I am satisfied with my performance, including 5 championships including world championships, 17 wins in KB League (2020), and 2nd place in the personal best ranking (November 2010).”
-In this year’s KB League, he was the only one who took the captaincy among the 3 calves (Chul-Han Choi, Young-Hoon Park, Seong-Jin Won) and has the highest ranking. It’s a little different from when I was young.
“They are friends who are much better than me in every aspect, whether it be their skills or performance. If my recent grades are ahead of me for a moment, I think it’s because the regret left by me is greater than theirs.” 메이저놀이터
-Aren’t you uncomfortable when fighting opponents who are at most 20 years younger?
“After going through it every day, I became unaware of my age. However, I tend to thoroughly analyze his opponent’s style of writing the day before the match.”
-Do you think AI played a part in reorganizing the news game? how do you study?
“I would also belong to the side whose status has risen thanks to AI. But these days, the dependence has decreased a lot. Should I study Go for 4-5 hours a week? I have been training with the national team for 8 years after being discharged from the military, and I am seeing great results.”
– Future goals.
“There will come a day when you feel the game is hard. Until then, I would be extremely happy if I could just go all-in and give up the game without regret. I set that day at 40, but I’m almost there, so I’m thinking of revising it to 45.”