Korea’s men’s national handball team and coach Jo Young-shin pose for a group photo at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong, on Sept. 9.NEWS1
Two recent MVPs of the Korean men's handball league both expressed confidence Wednesday that the national team will be able to beat Middle East powers en route to the gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games this month.
Lee Yo-seb, the reigning MVP, and Park Kwang-soon, the 2021 and 2025 MVP, will be at the forefront of Korea's pursuit of its first Asiad gold in men's handball in 16 years.
After Korea's gold in 2010, Qatar went on to win the next three gold medals, while Bahrain has grabbed two silver medals and one bronze medal over that same span. Korea's path to the podium will likely go through those rivals, and Lee, 28, said Korea will have an edge over them this time.
“In terms of organization and speed, I think we are better than those Middle East teams,” Lee said at the national team's press conference at the National Training Center in Jincheon, 85 kilometers (53 miles) south of Seoul. “Of course, they have become faster over the years and so beating them will not be easy for us. But I believe we have put in far more work than those teams. And we have done a great job of combining our individual strengths to build a strong team.”
Park, who hails from Jincheon, said he has enjoyed preparing for the Asian Games right in his backyard.
“I want to represent the country with a sense of responsibility,” he said. “In some earlier international competitions, I was often dealing with nagging injuries. This time, I want to get some good vibes from my hometown and play the best I can.”
Korean men's handball players conduct an open training session at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong, on Sept. 9.YONHAP
Team captain Ha Min-ho, 34, agreed with Lee that speed can be a game changer for Korea.
“We have been working on creating chances off quick transition,” he said. “As captain, I will try to lead the team back to the top of the Asian Games podium. We have some really talented young players here, and I learn a great deal from them during training. I want them to compete to the best of their abilities at the Asian Games.”
Goalkeeper Park Jae-yong and right back Kim Yeon-bin said they want to make the most of their Asian Games debut in Japan.
“Since this will be my first Asian Games, I will try to give extra effort at every chance,” Kim said. “I want to go for the gold medal.”
Park added, “We will try to show how hard we have worked on the court and win as much as we can.”
