Midnight Battle Triggers "11-Minute Withdrawal Nightmare"... Kwon Sun-woo Drops Out Due to Knee Injury, "All Korean Men's and Women's Singles Players Eliminated" [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kwon Sun-woo (29, Chungnam Provincial Sports Council), the flagship of Korean tennis, withdrew from the men's singles at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games due to a left knee injury.

During the men's singles third round match held on the 30th at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya, Japan, Kwon Sun-woo complained of pain and abandoned the match just 11 minutes after the start while trailing 0-3 in the first set game score against Kumo Yun Sultanov (Uzbekistan).

The grueling schedule from the previous day proved to be a hindrance. Kwon Sun-woo played back-to-back matches in the singles second round and men's doubles second round on the 29th, and due to rain delays, he did not finish his matches until past midnight. In the doubles second round, where he partnered with Hong Seong-chan (Dangjin City Hall), they lost 1-2 to a Japanese pair and were eliminated.

With Kwon Sun-woo's withdrawal, Korean tennis received a report card of all men's and women's singles players being eliminated from this tournament. Men's singles player Hong Seong-chan was eliminated in the second round, and women's singles players Ku Yeon-woo (CJ CheilJedang) and Baek Da-yeon (NH NongHyup Bank) also failed to advance past the second round. The women's doubles pair of Park So-hyun (Gangwon Provincial Office) and Jeong Bo-young (Andong City Hall) also withdrew before the second round due to Park So-hyun's flu symptoms. Consequently, the team's goal of achieving up to four gold medals was not met.

Amid the subdued atmosphere, the men's doubles pair of Nam Ji-seong (Dangjin City Hall) and Park Ui-seong (Daegu City Hall) delivered good news. The Nam Ji-seong-Park Ui-seong pair defeated Thailand's Puchaya Isarot-Maximus Jones pair 2-0 (6-2, 6-3) in just 57 minutes in the men's doubles quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. In accordance with tennis regulations where no bronze medal match is held, Korea has secured at least a bronze medal.

The semifinals will be held on October 1, and Korea will challenge for its first men's doubles gold medal in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Games (Jung Hyeon-Lim Yong-gyu).

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*This content was translated by AI.