On Tuesday morning, mixed feelings of pride and disappointment swept throughSouth Koreans whose eyes were fixed on big TV screens at Seoul Station that showed the performances of the country's athletes at the London Olympic Games.

People watching highlights of the events at the London Olympic Games in the morning have become a common scene, as many popular competitions are being broadcast in the predawn hours due to the eight-hour time difference between Seoul and London.

What drew the most attention on Tuesday were the results of the men's 200-meter freestyle swimming event. South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan snatched silver in the 200-meter freestyle at 1 minute and 44.93 seconds, sharing the second place with China's Sun Yang behind the winner Yannick Agnel, who clocked 1:43.13.

Park was the silver medalist behind Michael Phelps of theUnited Statesin the 200 at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. Park's silver medal came after he earned another silver in the men 's 400-meter freestyle on his rollercoaster first day in the Olympic pool that started with a controversial disqualification and ended with reinstatement.

His compatriots at home felt sorry for Park who missed out on gold, but showed support and encouragement for the athlete who did not appear to dwell on the furore surrounding his temporary disqualification. "I believe the silver medal he won is as valuable as a gold medal. I felt like it was a miracle because I heard that it was difficult to overturn the decision. The silver medal was incredible," said 31-year-old Hong Hyung-joo.

"His disqualification was overturned, and it must have strained him and that he could not demonstrate his best skills. I feel sorry for that. However, he did his best and earned a good result, though it was not a gold medal, and I'm proud of him," said 23- year-old Kang Geun-young.

Park was the first South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic title in Beijing. Elsewhere, Wang Ki-chun, the world number one and judo silver medal winner in Beijing, failed to win a medal in men' s under-73kg division as he suffered ligament damage. Wang, who was considered a strong gold medal hopeful, lost to Ugo Legrand ofFrancefor bronze. Though Wang fell short of expectations, South Koreans praised his fighting spirit despite the injury and wished for another stellar performance in the future.

"It would have been nicer if he won a medal because he had prepared this Olympic Games for four years. I feel sorry for him and hope that he could win a medal at the next Olympic Games," said 15-year-old Shin Seung-yup.

South Korea currently stands sixth in the medal standings with a total of six medals two gold, two silver and two bronze medals. One of the gold medals was garnered by the women's archery team, which won the Olympic title for the seventh consecutive time on Sunday. Another was taken by shooter Jin Jong Oh in the men's 10m air pistol on Saturday.

South Korea is aiming to win at least 10 gold medals for a top 10 finish in London.