From 2018 gold medal shock to rejuvenated ‘mood’… Korean hockey is not done yet

The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games will kick off a year late. Many national athletes are sweating it out right now. The hockey team, for example, is looking to redeem itself. The last time they competed, they finished with a bronze medal. This time is different.

South Korea was once a global hockey powerhouse. It even won an Olympic silver medal. Women’s hockey won silver medals in Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996. Men’s hockey won a silver medal in Sydney 2000.

Unsurprisingly, they were also a powerhouse at the Asian Games. Women’s hockey won five gold medals and men’s hockey won four. However, this has become somewhat of an ‘old story’. The last gold medals were won in Doha 2006 for the men and Incheon 2014 for the women.

The 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games were a humiliation. Neither the men nor the women won a medal. It was the first time since hockey became an official sport at the 1982 New Delhi Games that neither the men nor the women won a medal.

And at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, they didn’t even qualify for the main draw. The mood was not good. We’re slowly building it back up. This is why the Asian Games are so important.

In 2021, when Lee Sang-hyun took over as president of the Korean Hockey Association, the organization began to gain momentum again. The team’s performance on the international stage has also improved. In particular, the president has promised 50 million won as a reward for winning a gold medal at the Asian Games.

The men’s hockey team finished fourth at the Asian Champion Stroke in Chennai, India, in August. At the Hockey World Cup in January, the team made it to the quarterfinals with a strong showing, including a victory over Olympic champion Argentina.

Women’s hockey is part of the Asian “Big Four” with China, Japan, and India. It’s all about form on the day. There were some injuries, but they’re all back now. 온라인카지노

Both men’s and women’s hockey are looking at the Asian Games as a springboard to rebound. Winning the Asian Games will help them qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. It’s not a gold medal situation, but it’s not a “no” situation either.

The men’s hockey team leaves the country on the 20th, while the women’s team flies out on the 21st. They will play their first group games on the 24th and 25th, respectively. This is the first step in showing that Korean hockey is far from over.