South Korea wins 4-1 after losing first and coming from behind
Go resurfaces in tournament hosted by China after being dropped in 2010
Two-time Guangzhou champion Park Jung-hwan wins third gold, but is stopped by China in women’s team event
The members of Team Korea
Who defeated China in the men’s team final of the Go event at the Hangzhou Asian Games on
Wednesday, stand together for the cameras with their gold medals around their necks. From
left, Byun Sang-il, Lee Ji-hyun, Park Jung-hwan, Shin Min-joon, Shin Shin-seo, and Kim Myung-
hoon. Lee Ji-hyun, who did not compete in the five-player final, also joined them on the podium
to accept her gold medal. Lee competed in the preliminary round.
South Korea returned to the Asian Games after a 13-year absence, winning gold in the men’s
team event. The women’s team won silver but did not win a combined title.
Park Jong-hwan
In Guangzhou 13 years ago Park Jong-hwan (right) and Lee Seul-ah celebrate their gold medal
in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games Go Mixed Pairs. Park Jong-hwan also won the men’s team event, making it a two-peat.
South Korea defeated host China 4-1 in the final of the men’s team go event at the Hangzhou
Asian Games on Wednesday. Go, which was first included in the Asian Games program at
Guangzhou 2010, was not featured at Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018. In
Guangzhou, South Korea swept the three gold medals in the men’s and women’s team and mixed pairs.
The final match between Korea and China featured five players from each team, each playing
against a set opponent. The matches started at the same time, and South Korea lost the first
match to finish. Byun Sang-il 9 dan (26) lost to Li Qin-cheng 9 dan (25) with a black seven-and-
a-half moves in 295 moves. However, Korea evened the score when Korea’s No. 1 ranked Shin
Shin-seo 9-dan (23) defeated Yang Ding-shin 9-dan (25) in 240 moves with a white fire inheritance.
Shin Min-joon
9-dan (24), the silver medalist in the individual event at the tournament, then won the black
half-game in 324 moves, and Park Jung-hwan 9-dan (30) won the black disinheritance in 261
moves against Mi Yueting 9-dan (27) to seal the victory. Kim Myung-hoon 9-dan (26) also
secured a white four-and-a-half moves victory over Zhao Tian-yu 9-dan (24) in 297 moves. The
time limit for the tournament was one hour each, with three 30-second second readings. Dum
followed Chinese rules with seven and a half moves.
China made changes, including bringing in Li Qinqing, who did not play in the qualifying match
against South Korea, but could not get past South Korea. South Korea also defeated China 4-1
in the preliminary round of the tournament. In the men’s team competition, which featured nine
nations, South Korea won all six matches to finish first.
Shin Shin-seo
Won the team title to make up for his disappointing individual performance. Shin, who was
attempting to win a second title at the event, had to settle for bronze after losing to Chinese
Taipei’s Hsieh Hao-hung 9 Dan, 22, in the semifinals of the individual competition on March 28.
“I’m more happy to have won gold with my teammates. I think the individual competition is
more honorable, but the team competition is better because we all share the joy together,” said
Shin. “I was very disappointed in the individual competition, but it was my first Asian Games, so
there is joy along with the disappointment. It’s a great feeling.” Park won his third gold medal at
the Asian Games, having won two titles (men’s team event and mixed pair) in Guangzhou in 2010.
The women’s national go team lost 1-2 to China in the team final earlier in the day.
In the women’s team final, which featured three players from each side, “Ace” Choi Jeong 9-dan
(27) was the first to concede a point, losing to Li He 5-dan (31) in 203 moves. Kim Eun-ji 7-dan
(16), who had taken the early lead in the tournament, also lost to Wu Yim 5-dan (17) in 275
moves, leaving Korea without a gold medal. Oh Yoo-jin 9-dan (25) avoided defeat after a hard-
fought battle with Wei Zhiying 7-dan (26), winning black one-and-a-half moves in 319 moves.
In the women’s team event, which featured eight nations in all, South Korea sailed through the
preliminary round with a five-game sweep. After the final, Choi said, “I’m very sorry to my
teammates for the loss, because it was my fault. We struggled a lot to get to the final, and I’m
very disappointed that we lost.” As for the match, Choi said, “The set-up was difficult for me,
and I made a lot of mistakes in the final seconds, which suddenly changed the game.” Kim Eun-
ji, the youngest member of the women’s team, said, “It was a great experience to play on the big
stage of the Asian Games. I will try to do better next time I come to the Asian Games.” 스포츠토토맨