Korean men, women win 1st games in field hockey

NAGOYA, Japan — On Friday, both the Korean men's and women's field hockey teams secured victories in their opening matches of the Asian Games. The men's team triumphed over Bangladesh 5-0 in Pool A play at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium, located 30 kilometers north of Nagoya. Sim Jae-won, Lee Gang-san, Oh Se-yong, Bae Soung-min, and Yang Ji-hun each scored a goal for Korea, with three goals netted in the second quarter and one in each of the subsequent quarters.

Korea's head coach, Min Tae-seok, expressed surprise at Bangladesh's early elimination, stating, "We saw Bangladesh as a dark horse. We wanted to lock things down defensively in the first quarter. And then we wanted to be more aggressive in the second quarter. And our players scored those goals after making their adjustments to the venue."

Later, the women's team defeated Chinese Taipei 3-1 in the same Pool A match at the same venue. Park Seung-ae and An Su-jin each netted two goals for Korea. Korea previously claimed podium spots in both field hockey events at the 2023 Asian Games, securing bronze for the men and silver for the women. Both men's and women's tournaments follow identical formats throughout the Asian Games.