The 19th Asian Games has set the ball rolling in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8. As of now, China leads the medals tally with 173 medals including Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals. China is followed by the Republic of Korea with a total of 88 medals in their bag as of now. Sports-persons from all over the ‘continent of contrasts‘ have set their eyes on the ‘metallic yellow‘, to put their country name as up as possible. But things aren’t looking good for some, and this includes the Republic of Korea. We can see they are doing pretty well on the medals tally, then what might have caused the controversy?

It all started with the match of Kwon Soon-Woo against Thailand’s Samrej Kasidit. The South Korean lost the match with a score of 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to a player who is ranked almost more than 500 places below him. This didn’t go well with the 25-year-old South Korean.

South Korean athletes see red in the Land of Red Dragon

After this defeat, Kwon Soon-Woo slammed his racket into the ground and broke it into pieces. Nothing new, for tennis players, right? But to everyone’s surprise, he also refused to shake hands with Kasidit. This created an outburst among the fans which later turned into an ugly event. 

On Tuesday, the South Korean Sports and Olympics Committee (KSOC) released a statement, saying Kwon’s actions were “extremely regretful“. They also ensured the raging fans by saying, “We will take appropriate measures for the situation through a comprehensive review after the Games comes to an end“. Failing to ensure gold for the country means a mandatory military service of 18-21 months in South Korea. It has been mandatory since 1957, by Article 39 of the Korean Constitution. All fit men aged between 18-35 have to go through this, apart from a few exceptions. This thing first came to everyone’s notice when South Korean international football team captain and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. footballer received an exemption from active duty after winning gold in the Asian Games, in 2018.

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So, all Korean men failing to win gold medals in tennis at the Asian Games, means they have to start their compulsory military service within the next two or three years. Now, with all the latest happenings it remains to be seen what punishment adds to Kwon’s list. Another shameful incident took place in the Asian Games. South Korean Judo practitioner Lee Hye-Kyeong was disqualified from the Asian Games after slapping her opponent from Kazakhstan Abiba Abuzhakynova during their bout. That quite sums up South Korea’s gloomy days in Hangzhou.

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Kim Yu-bin faces backlash over her relationship with tennis player

Kim-Yu-bin, a singer-songwriter, rapper, and actress is a popular figure in Korea. But currently, she has been in the limelight because of her relationship with Kwon Soon-woo. Fans even urged her to break up with a 25-year-old tennis player. Comments poured in their picture calling “Yu-bin, please break up and meet a gentleman, I’m really worried“. Meanwhile, some of them moved a little further by adding, “Break up with Soon Woo Kwon. He’s a bad personality.”

Kwon has apologized to his fans and Kasidit publicly, in a handwritten note posted on his Instagram handle saying, “I behaved recklessly soon after a match ended and I shouldn’t have as a national team player“. Repercussion seems eminent for the Korean player, only time will tell what takes place further.

Do flood our comment box with all your comments on ‘appropriate‘ behaviors while representing your nation.

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