 Dejected South Korean players refuse to leave their bench following their 28-29 loss to Norway in the women's handball semifinals at the Beijing Olympics in Beijing, Thursday. / AP-Yonhap |
Lost in Translation
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The South Korean ambitions for a women's handball gold medal were killed literally in the last second, with Gro Hammerseng's winner at the buzzer allowing Norway to escape with a 29-28 win in Thursday's Olympic semifinal in Beijing.
It looked like the Koreans, rallying from a four-goal deficit in the second half, forced overtime with Moon Pil-hee's goal with five seconds left tying the game at 28 apiece.
However, the Koreans were stunned after Hammerseng collected an outlet pass from her goalie and slotted the winner past Lee Min-hee.
The Koreans were furious that Hammerseng's goal was allowed to stand. It was certainly a controversial decision, as video replays seemed to indicate that the ball hadn't passed the goal line when time expired.
Unlike the rules of basketball, where a player just needs to get the shot off before the buzzer, the ball must cross the goal line in time to be counted as a score in handball.
Korean coach Lim Young-chul was visibly furious, and his dejected players refused to leave the sidelines for about 20 minutes after the game in protest. However, there wasn't much they could do about the outcome when the team didn't have anyone who could speak English well enough to communicate with officials.
In a tragically comic scene, Lim and his coaches repeatedly shouted ``television'' and ``video'' to game officials with their arms crosses in Xs, clearly not the ideal way to present an argument in an important international match.
``It wasn't a goal,'' an angered Lim told Koreans after the match, adding that the coaching staff visited the International Handball Federation (IHF) office to demand a video replay.
``The ball didn't cross the line in time and the player advanced on an extra step before shooting it,'' said Lim.
Kim Jin-soo, the vice president of the Korean Handball Federation, said a formal complaint would be submitted to the IHF.
``I don't know if they will accept our argument or not, but we have been hurt by controversial calls in the Asian qualifiers and now the Olympics, and we are not going to stand still,'' he said.
A Korean referee with a license for international matches said getting the call overturned would be difficult.
``Handball doesn't allow video replays, and it's extremely difficult to get a call reversed when there is nobody to verbally communicate,'' he said.
It was the worst way for the spirited Koreans to lose the game, which had the makings of a classic.
The Koreans, who had been drubbed by Norway in the World Championships last year, showed more resilience against their bigger and stronger foes this time around, with Moon and Oh Seong-ok, a veteran in her fourth Olympics, leading an attack with pace and purpose.
After both teams exchanged goals for the first 15 minutes, Oh scored twice in a 5-0 run that had the Koreans leading 12-8 after 24 minutes.
However, the Norwegians answered with their own 4-1 run sparked by Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth and Karoline Dyhre Breivang that cut the Korean lead to 13-12.
Goals by Moon and Oh had the Koreans leading 15-14 after the break, but the Norwegians began to impose their will after the second-half whistle, with Kari Mette Johansen and Hammerseng collaborating for three unanswered points to take the lead at 17-15.
The game remained a two- or three-point affair for the next 20 minutes, with a tighter Norwegian defense taking away the easy shots on the break the Koreans enjoyed in the first half.
Norway looked to be pulling away in the 53rd minute, with consecutive goals by Else Marthe Soerlie Lybekk and Johansen making it 27-23.
However, the Koreans proved they had one last fight in them, with Moon and An Jung-hwa striking back immediately to make it 27-25. Then in a stunning display of will and skill, An, Huh Soon-young and Moon collaborated to score three times in a span of a minute, tying the game at 28 apiece.
However, Hemmerseng's goal ruined the script.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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