(Asiad) S. Korea to be without top center for women's basketball tournament

South Korea's women's basketball team will miss out on having their top center, Park Ji-su, at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. The Korea Basketball Association (KBA) announced on Monday that Park will not be able to participate due to her ankle injury not fully healing in time for the tournament. Park, who stands at 193 centimeters tall, has been the go-to center for the South Korean team and has won four MVP awards in the Women's Korean Basketball League.

She has also played in the WNBA in the United States. Although Park has been working hard to recover, the KBA has decided not to replace her, taking only 11 players to the games. Head coach Park Soo-ho expressed disappointment but emphasized the team's focus on maximizing the potential of the 11 players they have. South Korea will also be without Park Ji-hyun, the team's lone WNBA player, as she is committed to the Los Angeles Sparks.

The Asian Games will kick off with a Group C match against Malaysia at 10 a.m. on Friday at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. The team will then face Mongolia at 1 p.m. on Monday and Chinese Taipei at 4 p.m. on Sept. 22, all at the same venue. The tournament features four groups of four teams and one group of three teams, with the top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-place teams, advancing to the quarterfinals.