Golden Age of Soccer and Baseball Generation Z… The Second ‘Son Heung-min and Ryu Hyun-jin’ Appear
Promising players won gold medals side by side in the finals of the Hangzhou Asian Games, receiving special military service exemptions, raising expectations for their performance on the world stage.
Asian Games men's soccer and baseball battle for only one gold medal. 온라인카지노
However, the expectations that Korean citizens place on these two sports are difficult to compare with those of track and field and swimming, where dozens of gold medals are at stake.
This is because athletes in both sports are freed from military service obligations and there is increased support from fans who want them to perform on the world stage.
In this respect, the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games were a ‘big event’ for Korean men’s soccer and baseball.
The Korean national team won gold medals in the men's soccer and baseball competitions held on the 7th.
The under-24 soccer team, led by coach Hwang Sun-hong, won the championship by defeating Japan 2-1 in the final held at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, China.
The baseball team led by coach Ryu Joong-il also won 2-0 in the final against Chinese Taipei held at Stadium 1 of the Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Center.
With this, Korean baseball has dominated the Asian Games gold medal for the fourth time in a row since Guangzhou in 2010.
Of the 22 members of the Korean soccer team, all 21, except for goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hoon (22), who has already completed his military service in Sangmu, Gimcheon, will receive special military service benefits.
In particular, Cho Young-wook (24), who played for Gimcheon Sangmu in the K League 2 after enlisting this year, scored the team's winning goal and reported ‘early discharge'.
Lee Kang-in (22, left), known as the ‘next generation ace' of Korean soccer, also laid the foundation for a more stable performance on the European stage with this gold medal.
For Lee Kang-in, who joined the world-renowned club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the young age of 22 and was recognized for his potential, military service could have been a ‘shackle'.
With this Asian Games, Lee Kang-in has cleared a major obstacle that could have hindered his career as a player.
Jung Woo-young (24), a member of Stuttgart in the German Bundesliga who is classified as a ‘key resource' of the Korean national soccer team along with Lee Kang-in, was the top scorer with eight goals.
In particular, Jung Woo-young's presence was an essential element for Korea in this tournament, given that most of these eight goals had high ‘nutrition value'.
The opening score in the first game of the group stage against Kuwait, the first game of the tournament, and the two goals against Uzbekistan, which was considered the biggest challenge of this tournament, all came from Jung Woo-young's toes.
It was Jung Woo-young who scored the goal in the final, which was tied 0-1.
The baseball team, which limited the selection qualifications to ‘under 25 years of age or under 4 years of professional experience', consisted of 21 players under 24 years of age, excluding 3 wild cards, out of 24 total entries.
Among them, 19 players have not yet completed their military service obligations.
With this gold medal win, players called the future of Korean baseball, such as Moon Dong-ju (20, right) and Noh Si-hwan (23), will be able to enjoy military service benefits.
Noh Si-hwan said, “I feel proud that the young players came together as a team and won a gold medal.
I think they did a really great job, and the future of Korean baseball is bright.”
