[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The South Korean rugby team (world ranking 31st), for whom simply participating in the Olympics was a 'challenge,' narrowly lost to Asia's strongest team, Japan (10th), in their final match.
Led by coach Seo Cheon-oh, the rugby team was defeated by Japan 19-31 (12-19, 7-12) in the 11th-12th place playoff of the Tokyo Olympic Rugby Sevens at Tokyo Stadium on the morning of the 28th.
The team scored first in the opening attack of the first half. Mixed-race player Andrejin Coquillard broke through the opponent's central defense line and successfully scored a try (touchdown in American football) just 46 seconds after the game started. Coquillard then succeeded in the conversion kick (bonus kick), putting the team ahead 7-0.
However, the Korean team could not stop Japan's attacks and allowed the score to be tied at 7-7.
Still, they did not give up. At 4 minutes and 11 seconds into the first half, Jang Jeong-min (Korea Electric Power Corporation) evaded the opposing defender and easily scored a try. The bonus kick was not converted. The first half ended with Korea trailing 12-19.
In the second half, Korea showed signs of fatigue. Despite playing rough defense and receiving warnings to block Japan's attacks, they conceded a try and one conversion kick, falling behind 12-26.
With about 3 minutes remaining, team ace Jeong Yeon-sik broke through the right flank to score a try, and Coquillard converted the kick, narrowing the gap to 19-26, but the team could not muster any more strength.
Thus, South Korean rugby finished at the bottom of the Tokyo Olympics.
The rugby team earned their first-ever Olympic berth in history by producing a miraculous comeback victory against Hong Kong in the Asian qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics in November 2019.
It has been nearly 100 years since rugby was introduced to Korea in 1923, and considering the harsh reality of having only three corporate teams (Korea Electric Power Corporation, POSCO Construction, Hyundai Glovis) and four university teams (Yonsei, Korea, Kyung Hee, Dankook University), qualifying for the Olympics itself was a remarkable achievement.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
