"Men's basketball showed the true strength of South Korea." Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) also received an emotional round of applause [Nagoya on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Yoo Seung-min, President of the Korean Olympic Committee, evaluated the South Korean Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team that secured the gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games despite various setbacks, stating, "I believe they truly demonstrated the strength of South Korea."

In an interview held on the 24th at the Main Media Center (MMC) in Nagoya, Japan, Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) remarked, "We must accept a certain level of home advantage from the perspective of those who are challenging. The fact that the national basketball team overcame such circumstances is a very commendable precedent worthy of applause."

Earlier, the Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team defeated Japan 67-57 in the final match between South Korea and Japan, securing the gold medal for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Games. Although the final opponent was the host nation Japan, the victory was achieved by completely outperforming them throughout the game.

The team overcame various setbacks both inside and outside the competition. On the day of the final match, the bus scheduled to transport the national basketball team to their training venue failed to arrive, causing them to miss the entire practice session. There were also issues related to their accommodation, including a player who publicly criticized leaking faucets in the sinks via social media (SNS). Controversial officiating decisions also arose during the final match. Nevertheless, the Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team stood tall as champions of the tournament.

Yoo Seung-min (Chairman) stated, "It was understandable that players might have wavered under such difficult circumstances. The final opponent was Japan again. I believe home advantage exists everywhere." He added, "Overcoming this is indeed something worthy of great applause. I think the performance and gold medal won by the national basketball team will have a significant impact on the entire South Korean delegation."

He further added, "In fact, watching the national basketball team win the gold medal gave me tremendous strength. So I thought, 'Instead of complaining, we should overcome these challenges and show them what we are capable of.' This is the strength of South Korea and the Team Korea delegation."

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*This content was translated by AI.