Team targets up to 4 gold medals; early draws seen as key
Men's singles faces Wong, Shevchenko; women's singles contends with Eala
South Korea's tennis team is chasing its first Asian Games gold medal in 12 years, with Davis Cup quarterfinal hero Kwon Soon-woo of the South Chungcheong Province Sports Council and the in-form Goo Yeon-woo of CJ CheilJedang leading the charge.
Tennis competition runs from Sunday through Oct. 3 at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya, Japan.
Five gold medals are on offer across men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles.
South Korea has won 16 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze medals in Asian Games tennis, but the last gold came 12 years ago — when the Jung Hyun-Lim Yong-kyu pairing claimed the men's doubles title at the 2014 Incheon Games. Since then, the team managed only a men's singles bronze at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and three bronze medals — in men's singles and men's and women's doubles — at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
The squad has set a target of up to four gold medals at this year's tournament.
Momentum is on the men's side after the team beat India 3-1 on Friday to reach the Davis Cup quarterfinals for the first time in history.
Kwon (world No. 158), who won both his singles matches against India, will again anchor the team. A three-time ATP Challenger title winner this year, he is looking to avenge his Hangzhou disappointment.
At the Hangzhou Games, Kwon — then ranked No. 112 in the world — lost 1-2 in the second round of men's singles to Kasidith Samrej of Thailand, who was ranked No. 636 at the time. He drew controversy after the match by smashing his racket and refusing to shake his opponent's hand, then issued a personal apology the following day.
Kwon enters this tournament as the fourth seed in men's singles. To contend for gold, he will need to get past top seed Coleman Wong (No. 108, Hong Kong), second seed Aleksandr Shevchenko (No. 109, Kazakhstan) and third seed Wu Yibing (No. 113, China).
In men's doubles, the Hangzhou bronze-medal pair of Kwon and Hong Sung-chan of the Dangjin City Hall team reunites, while Nam Ji-sung and Park Eui-sung, also of the Dangjin City Hall team, will compete for medals.
The women's team is led by Goo (No. 185), who reached the semifinals of a WTA 125 event and finished runner-up at an ITF W100 tournament this year. If she advances past the first round, she is likely to face Japan's Uchijima Moyuka (No. 105) in the next match.
In women's singles, Alexandra Eala (No. 18, Philippines) — who reached the Wimbledon round of 16 and won the WTA Washington tournament this year — is the heavy favorite for gold. Second seed Zhang Shuai (No. 55, China) and third seed Yulia Putintseva (No. 79, Kazakhstan) are also formidable opponents.
In women's doubles, Jang Su-jeong of the Incheon City Hall team pairs with Baek Da-yeon of NH NongHyup Bank, while Park So-hyun of the Gangwon Province team pairs with Jung Bo-young of the Andong City Hall team.
In mixed doubles, Shin Woo-bin of the Armed Forces Athletic Corps pairs with Goo, while Shin San-hee of the Gyeongsan City Hall team pairs with Lee Eun-hye of NH NongHyup Bank.
On the opening day Sunday, men's and women's singles both get under way. In women's singles, Goo is scheduled to face Anastasiya Tursunova of Tajikistan, while Baek takes on Shibali Gurung of Nepal. In men's singles, Kwon and Hong receive first-round byes and will enter in the second round.
yuni@heraldcorp.com
