'First gold medal in 12 years' led by coach Park Soo-ho: "Women's basketball is not in a golden era" [Nagoya on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Coach Park Soo-ho, who led the Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team to win the Asian Games gold medal for the first time in 12 years, expressed his emotional reaction, saying, "I am extremely happy to have won the gold medal. I don't know if such a day will come again."

At a press conference following the women's basketball final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 26th, Coach Park Soo-ho said, "This is a day I will cherish forever. I want to give credit to the players. I want to convey my deepest gratitude."

On this day, South Korea defeated Japan 75-70 to claim the championship title. The women's basketball gold medal at the Asian Games for South Korea comes 12 years after the 2014 Incheon tournament. It has been 32 years since a women's basketball team reached the top in a tournament held abroad, coincidentally also in Japan (Hiroshima) in 1994.

This gold medal is particularly significant as it was achieved despite the absence of key players such as Park Ji-soo and Park Ji-hyun, and overcoming one-sided support from Japanese home fans. It was a result that overcame even the one-sided cheering from home fans.

However, Coach Park Soo-ho stated, "From the moment I first took charge of the national team, we did not train focusing on specific players. We also do not play games with such an approach."

He continued, "It would have been much more helpful if all the players (Park Soo-ho, Park Ji-hyun) had been available, but there was no way to proceed without them. Whether in practice games or the actual match, we operated under the principle that we could not play unless at least one of the 12th players was unable to participate. The players performed with confidence and did well. They have done well so far."

With both men's and women's basketball teams winning gold medals at the Asian Games, evaluations are emerging that South Korean basketball is in a "golden era." Coach Park Soo-ho said, "To be honest, while it is true that men's basketball is in a golden era, the women's team simply played very well. I do not consider women's basketball to be in a golden era."

Coach Park added, "This gold medal was the result of 11 players working extremely hard. There are still many areas where women's basketball falls short. Winning and securing a gold medal like this will motivate younger players. I hope efforts to expand the base of basketball will be successful," pointing out realistic challenges.

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*This content was translated by AI.