Участник:'The Frog in the Well'
The level of "well-in-a-frog" in men's basketball and men's volleyball, which represent winter professional sports, was revealed starkly through the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Men's basketball was eliminated in the quarterfinals and men's volleyball in the round of 12, and it is the first time in the history of the Asian Games that the two events failed to win medals side by side.
The men's basketball team, led by head coach Chu Il-seung, lost 70-84 to China in the quarterfinals of the men's basketball tournament at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in China on the 3rd.
Even if his objective power fell, he dreamed of a miraculous victory, saying, "The ball is round," but the wall of the Great Wall was too high.
From the end of the first quarter, China launched a strong offensive and widened its distance. South Korea lost the driving force of its pursuit due to poor shooting accuracy and excessive turnovers. At the end of the second quarter, the score was 30-50, a whopping 20 points apart. The pendulum of the game tilted so early.
Due to the defeat, South Korea failed to win a medal by falling behind to the 5th to 8th place match. It is the first time in 17 years that the men's basketball team has not won a medal at the Asian Games since the 2006 Doha Games (fourth place). His dream of reclaiming the top spot nine years after the 2014 Incheon Games was also shattered.
He did well, but unfortunately, he didn't lose. Earlier, in the group stage, he was caught by Japan, which consists of "second-tier."
The collapse of the men's basketball team reminded me of the men's volleyball team, which packed up with no medals first.
The men's volleyball team, led by Lim Do-heon, was eliminated after being caught by Pakistan in the round of 12 on September 22, the day before the opening ceremony of the tournament. The men's volleyball team, which sought the gold medal for the first time in 17 years since the 2006 Doha Games, was humiliated for the first time in 61 years since the 1962 Jakarta Games (5th place).
The men's basketball team, which came to Hangzhou on the 23rd of last month, was shocked by the news of the elimination of men's volleyball. Heo Hoon said, "I suddenly get chills (to hear the news of men's volleyball's elimination from the round of 12)," and vowed, "I will do my best by playing like a do-or-die game."
However, the men's national basketball team produced results that were not much different from those of the men's volleyball team. This is the first time that men's basketball and men's volleyball have won no medals together at the Asian Games.
Men's basketball also won bronze at the 1962 Jakarta Games, when men's volleyball failed to win a medal. In addition, at the 2006 Doha Games, when men's basketball ranked fourth, men's volleyball won the gold medal, achieving its first two consecutive wins.
However, both national teams had no income in this Hangzhou tournament. Professional basketball and professional volleyball, which are set to open the new season, hoped that the national team would perform well at the Asian Games and ignite the success, but rather, only the current status of international competitiveness and falling level was confirmed.