Many enjoy sunny day on court at Hyatt
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Yoon June-shik, left, honorary consul of Mexico, comforts New Zealand Ambassador Patrick Rata during their match.
By Kim Se-jeong
Under the spring sun and cherry blossom shower, 32 tennis players from the diplomatic community gathered at the Grand Hyatt Seoul tennis court in Seoul, Saturday, for the 9th Diplomatic Tennis Championships.
Diplomats of 18 countries, including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico, participated in the event. Among the spectators were the Ambassador of Paraguay Ceferino Valdez, Indian Ambassador Vishnu Prakash and people from Germany and Malaysia.
The tournament was organized by The Korea Times and sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korean Culture and Information Service.
Korea Times President-Publisher Park Moo-jong, right, speaks to guests at the tennis tournament. From left are Mexican Ambassador Martha Ortiz de Rosas; Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul; Spanish Ambassador Luis Arias Romero; and Park.
It was also sponsored by SK Telecom, GS, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, British American Tobacco Korea, LG Fashion, Nara Cellar, Amway, Porsche Design Sport, Adidas, Fraser Place, Millennium Seoul Hilton, Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas, Intercontinental Seoul COEX, Imperial Palace, Somerset Palace Seoul, Renaissance Seoul, JW Marriott Seoul and Grand Hyatt Seoul.
Korea Times President-Publisher Park Moo-jong started the event by welcoming participants, and Hungarian Ambassador Miklos Lengyel, the longest participant, expressed thanks to the organizer ― it was his fifth and last participation.
“I am very sad that this is my last participation. I wholeheartedly thank The Korea Times for organizing the tournament annually,” Lengyel said. He is returning to Budapest this summer.
Deepak Subbaiah of India hits the ball. Behind him is his doubles partner Song Young-sok.
Kim Hong-ryll from the Czech Embassy surprised many, leading his team with Milos Skelnka, head of the environment and commercial mission, to victory.
Baudouin de Hemptinne, commercial attache at the Belgium Embassy, and his wife Corine finished second.
For the couple, the support from their three adorable children couldn’t go unnoticed. A couple of years ago, they made a little performance while the parents were vying for victory. This year, their teenage daughter Alexandra showed up with a hand-drawn poster.
Swiss Ambassador Jorg Al. Reding returns the ball.
New Zealand Ambassador Patrick Rata didn’t make it too far, but stuck around for colleague Song Young-sok. For him, the tournament was like getting his first love back. He used to be an avid tennis player, he said, until almost 10 years ago. Now, his new love is softball, which occupies almost all his Sundays.
Swiss Ambassador Jorg Al. Reding had a story to share. During an interview with The Korea Times in October last year, he said he was looking for a family who hosted him in 1974 when he was visiting Seoul for two weeks.
They turned out to be the family of Poong Nyun, a kitchenware manufacturer specializing in pressure cookers. “Oh I found them. We met three times already,” he said.
Ishwar-Arnold Rocke from France reacts to play during his game.
Indian Ambassador Prakash was happy to see an Indian player among the four winners.
“Go India!” he cheered Deepak Subbaiah during the award ceremony.
Good bye to Amb. Lengyel, the Hemptinnes, Mexican Ambassador Martha Ortiz de Rosas and her husband Jorge, and Dutch Embassy counselor Gert Stiekema and his wife Mildred, who won’t be here next year.
For those who missed this year’s tournament, stay tuned!