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By Kim Tae-jong, Yoon Sung-won
INCHEON ― The South Korean women's handball team won gold after routing Japan 29-19, Wednesday, at the Incheon Asian Games, avenging their bitter failure four years ago.
"We thought it would be a challenging match," the team's right-back Ryu Eun-hee, who scored 10 goals, the most among the Koreans, said after the victory at the Seonhak Handball Gymnasium. "We tried to keep focusing on the game from the very beginning, which I think led us to an easy win in the end."
The Koreans dominated the Japanese from the beginning. They scored 9 goals in just 15 minutes, while conceding only three, and finished the first half at 17-5.
The Korean handballers found the victory more meaningful, as they were able to avenge their bitter loss in the semifinals at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Back then, the Koreans had to settle for bronze.
It was an unexpected and painful defeat for the team, as it snapped South Korea's gold medal-winning streak at five.
"The defeat, I think, made us stronger and more eager to win the gold at Incheon," team center-back Kim On-a said. "We encouraged each other to do our best, as we badly wanted to avenge our failure at Guangzhou."
After the game, all the players also expressed their gratitude toward Woo Sun-hee, who has supported them as the team's captain.
The 36-year-old handballer is a legendary figure in the nation, having played for the national team since 2001.
She said she was so happy because she will retire from the sport with the best memory.
"I kept saying I would retire after big competitions, but now I'm still here," the right-wing said. "But I really think this will be the end, given my age."
But she shone throughout all matches at the Asiad along with her much younger teammates. She is the oldest player except for the team's goalkeeper Song Mi-young, who is 39.
The captain scored 10 goals to help her country make the final, and in the final, she scored five goals out of five attempts.
But after the glory moment, Woo said she will do what she has long delayed ― have a baby.
Kazakhstan led by Korean coach Yoon Tae-il won the bronze after defeating China 27-26.
S. Korea beats China to clinch women's hockey title
Meanwhile, South Korea's Kim Da-rae's field goal in the 41st minute led her country to defeat long-standing rival China in a neck-and-neck showdown in the women's hockey to reclaim the Asiad title, Wednesday.
In the final at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium, the host country bagged the hard-fought gold medal for the first time in 12 years.
"It's so good to score a goal and win the final. I really appreciate everyone who has helped us so far to win the gold," Kim said after the match. "As we are eligible to play in the 2016 Olympics, I'd like to contribute to the team more and help my colleagues."
For the South Korean female hockey team, which now has five Asiad titles, the gold was the first since its last victory in the 1998 Bangkok Asiad.
For Kim and many other South Korean players, the victory also was revenge against China, which defeated them four years ago at the Guangzhou Asian Games.
"I saw many new Chinese players. I think we were luckier than them this time," Kim said.
The 15-minute first quarter ended without a goal from either side.
The pace of the game started to quicken when China gained a chance to make a shot from a penalty corner in the 21st minute of the second quarter, which was blocked by South Korea's Kim Hyun-ji.
In several fast breaks, South Korea's Cho Eun-ji picked up a green card in the 28th minute and was sent off the game for the remainder of the quarter.
However, the team failed to score a goal.
The match's phase changed again in the third quarter, when South Korea's Kim Da-rae found the left corner of the net with a strong shot, connecting onto a pinpoint pass from her teammate on the right.
About one minute and 20 seconds after the start of the fourth quarter, South Korea gained opportunities again with a series of penalty corners, both of which were delivered to Oh Sun-soon to make shots. But the first one was blocked by Chinese defenders and the second one narrowly missed the net and hit the right side of the goalpost.
The Chinese team poured fierce attacks to their opponent's net until the end, but were short of scoring an equalizer.
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