This meant that he became a thrice champion since the 8th and 12th Asian Chamiponships. At the age of 11, he joined a spare-time sports school in Sosong District, Pyongyang.
Wrestling requires powerful strength, stamina, perseverance and flexibility.
But at the beginning, Ri Yong Sam lacked in these physical attributes. That was why he had the poor performance records in the annual series of inter-school contests. He set himself the goal of fulfilling daily assignments, which were less inferior to those of senior wrestlers. Since then, he carved the iche in such national games as Mangyongdae and Paektusan Prize games, where he always finished first. He came out third at the Dedveji Prize Games held in Minsk in 1992, his first ever international game, and recorded good results at the later games.