“No matter how prepared you are, you must do your best to achieve good results.”
Heo Hoon, the ace of the Korean men’s national basketball team, who will compete in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, showed his strong determination.
Korea, led by coach Chu Il-seung, entered Hangzhou through Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport on the afternoon of the 23rd.
‘Ace Chu Il Seung-ho’ Heo Hoon, whom I met after entering Hangzhou on the 23rd. Photo (Hangzhou, China) = Reporter Lee Han-ju
Coach Chu Il-seung is at the helm of the Korean men’s national basketball team. Photo (Hangzhou, China) = Reporter Lee Han-ju
Korea, a member of Group D in men’s basketball at the Asian Games, begins its tournament schedule with a game against Indonesia on the 26th. Afterwards, they will try to advance to the tournament by facing Qatar (28th) and Japan (30th).
In men’s basketball, three out of four teams from each group advance to the round of 12 tournament. The first place in the group wins a direct ticket to the quarterfinals, and the second and third place in the group must pass the round of 12 to join the quarterfinals.
Korea is looking to win the Hangzhou Asian Games for the first time in nine years since the 2014 Incheon Games.
Heo Hoon, who won a bronze medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, the previous competition, was also thirsty for victory. After entering Hangzhou and meeting with reporters, he joked, “It was hard coming to Hangzhou in the morning,” and added, “The players prepared well together. The motivation to achieve good results is great, and the young kids are also full of fighting spirit. “I will try to achieve good results,” he said, adding strength to his voice.
It is clearly good news for Korea that competing countries have had difficulty selecting players due to injuries and other reasons. China, the host country and the top contender for the championship, had Wang Jelin and Zhou Qi excluded, and Japan and Iran were also not at 100% strength.
However, this was also the case in Korea. Moon Seong-gon and Song Kyo-chang withdrew due to ankle pain and knee injuries, respectively, and Yang Hong-seok and Byun Jun-hyung were entered instead.
Heo Hoon said, “Honestly, I didn’t have time to coordinate much with (the players). He also had many injured players. “He never really exercised at full power,” he said, “and barely even did 5-on-5 training. “The players have a lot of pain, so I haven’t tried it in a few days,” he said with a bitter smile.
However, despite this, he did not lose confidence. Heo Hoon said, “There is no choice but to hold games and matches. “The players came together and tried to work out in a bright atmosphere,” he said. “The players all came with only one goal in mind (winning). “No matter what the preparation is, we must do our best to achieve good results,” he emphasized.
The Korean men’s volleyball team, led by coach Lim Do-heon, was confirmed to have failed to win a medal even before the official opening ceremony of the competition was held. After suffering shock losses to India and Pakistan, they were headed to the 7th-12th place ranking match. Men’s volleyball, which succeeded in winning medals 14 times in a row from the 1966 Bangkok Games to the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, suffered the humiliation of ‘no medals’ for the first time in 61 years since the 1962 Indonesian Games in Jakarta. This was a clear wake-up call to the men’s basketball team, including Heo Hoon.
Heo Hoon said, “I saw (the article) today. I was definitely alarmed. “I was worried that our future would not turn out like this,” he said with a determined expression, adding, “It is a bad situation for volleyball, but our players have become alert.”
Like Heo Hoon, the head coach was also ‘serious’ about winning. Coach Chu Il-seung said, “When a player enters a game, he must aim to win, and when he enters a battle, he must win,” and added, “I will do my best to be at the top. Also, among the veteran players, there is one who won a gold medal (in the Asian Games). It seems like those players are leading the mood by spreading the word well to their juniors. “I think it is a very positive effect,” he said firmly.메이저사이트
Meanwhile, KT Sports, a company affiliated with the team of Heo Hoon (currently managing director), Ha Yoon-ki, and Moon Jeong-hyeon (scheduled to join Korea University and Suwon KT), visited the national team’s arrival site on this day and provided promotional support. In order to convey a message of support and pride to each player, KT produced a mini banner with content such as ‘You are a proud national representative of the Republic of Korea’ and delivered it to the players.
KT plans to deliver cheering messages to its athletes who will participate in shooting, hockey, and baseball, who are scheduled to enter the country in the future.