S. Korea beats Malaysia to begin women's basketball tournament

Nagoya, Japan — South Korea secured an impressive 106-40 victory over Malaysia on Friday, opening their women's basketball tournament at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. Lee So-hee, the team's guard, was the standout player with 21 points and four steals, while forward Choi I-saem added 19 points and seven rebounds. Six South Korean athletes scored in double digits, making it the nation's first Group C win at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan.

South Korea will face Mongolia at 1 p.m. on Monday, followed by a game against Chinese Taipei at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The Asian Games will host all basketball matches at Aichi International Arena. Coach Park Soo-ho aims to surpass the bronze medal achieved at the 2023 Asiad, where South Korea and North Korea, as a unified team, placed second behind China.

The country's last women's basketball gold medal was won in 2014 during the Incheon Asiad. South Korea will enter the tournament with 11 players, one less than the maximum allowed, as star center Park Ji-su is sidelined with an ankle injury and decided not to be named to the roster by the national federation.