A disappointing setback in the quest for the quarterfinals after 16 years... "Fighting hard against a high global wall, but also saw potential," says Kang I-seul

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean women's national basketball team, led by head coach Park Soo-ho, was defeated at the threshold of the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup quarterfinals.

On the 9th (Korean time), Korea suffered a crushing 56-94 loss to host nation Germany in the quarterfinal match held in Berlin, Germany, falling by 38 points.

After starting strongly with a decisive victory over Nigeria in the group stage opener, Park's team subsequently lost consecutively to France and Hungary, finishing third in Group B and advancing to the quarterfinals. However, they could not overcome the formidable wall of Germany, who finished second in Group A. Korea's last appearance in the Women's World Cup quarterfinals was at the 2010 tournament in the Czech Republic. This marks a bitter conclusion to Korea's 17th consecutive World Cup main draw campaign.

Team key shooter Kang I-seul fought hard even amidst the heavy defeat. Playing for 28 minutes and 36 seconds, Kang scored 17 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, recorded 1 assist and 1 steal, leading the team in scoring with three 3-pointers included. She shot 40% from the field (6/15), 50% on 2-pointers (3/6), 33.3% on 3-pointers (3/9), and 100% on free throws (2/2). While she secured 4 defensive rebounds, she also committed 4 turnovers and could not single-handedly prevent the team's defeat.

According to the Korea Basketball Association, after the game Kang I-seul stated, "Although we narrowly missed advancing to the quarterfinals, all players gave their best effort. It is only natural that losing the game brings up regrets and areas of deficiency first, but even in difficult circumstances, I believe we showed good performances in terms of gameplay in every match." She added, "I am happy that this tournament demonstrated that Korea has sufficient competitiveness on the global stage."

Regarding her role in overcoming previous struggles against Hungary and leading the team's offense with aggressive shooting attempts, she emphasized the importance of focus. Kang explained, "In the Hungary game, I ended up scoreless, which was a truly poor personal performance. However, I felt there was no time to dwell on that match, so I aimed to shake it off as quickly as possible and concentrate on the next game." She continued, "Today, rather than thinking about other things, I focused on what I needed to do on the court and approached the game with that mindset."

She also reflected on the lessons gained from facing world-class powerhouses. Kang remarked, "Among the teams participating in this tournament, we were among the shortest in height, but I believe we displayed the most team-oriented gameplay as a result." She added, "Of course, I once again felt how high the level of the global stage is, and there are many areas that need development and improvement. However, if each player continues to strive in their respective roles, this tournament confirmed the possibility for Korea to grow into an even better team than it is now."

The World Cup team will return home on the 10th and immediately head to Japan to prepare for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Korea will begin their campaign against Malaysia on the 18th, followed by matches against Mongolia on the 21st and Taiwan on the 22nd.

Captain Kang I-seul also reaffirmed her determination for the Asian Games. She stated, "Since (Park) Ji-hyun will not be participating in the Asian Games, all players must move more actively than before and play more aggressively on both offense and defense." She emphasized, "With major tournaments following one after another, it won't be physically easy, but we will prepare well to stay united as a team and carry forward the strong performances shown during this World Cup into the Asian Games."

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*This content was translated by AI.