[Behind the Scenes Interview] 224cm Chinese Zhang Zetian’s towering presence drew nervous laughs from players... "So are we just going to lose?" The hidden heroine behind Korea’s gold medal, Coach Yang Ji-hee, in one line... "The emotional impact is far greater than when I was a player"

*This content was translated by AI.

"The players who saw Zhang Zetian (China) up close for the first time said they couldn’t help but laugh because she was so tall. They thought, 'Are they telling us to push that player away?'"

Behind Korea’s return to the top of the Asian Games after 12 years were those who fought alongside the players off the court. One such person is Coach Yang Ji-hee of the Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team, who wore a gold medal as a player 12 years ago and now stands atop the podium again as a coach.

The biggest hurdle was particularly the semifinal against China. Even the Korean players, facing for the first time Chinese center Zhang Zetian, who boasts an overwhelming height of 2 meters 24 centimeters, were momentarily caught off guard to the point of nervous laughter.

However, Coach Yang’s reaction was resolute.

In a phone interview with StarNews on the 2nd, Coach Yang said, "Almost all the staff members, except me, have an 'F' in their MBTI. They are all emotional, and Head Coach Park Soo-ho is also an 'F,'" she laughed before explaining, "If someone says something like 'there’s nothing we can do,' I am the type to say from the sidelines, 'So are we just going to lose?'"

Indeed, at this Asian Games as well, Coach Yang’s resolute advice bolstered the team.

The Korean Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team led by Head Coach Park Soo-ho defeated China in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games semifinal and then overcame host Japan 75-70 in the final to claim the gold medal.

It has been 12 years since Korean women’s basketball last reached the top of the Asian Games, following the 2014 Incheon Games.

Until just before the tournament, few viewed Korea as a strong contender for the title. Coach Yang candidly admitted, "Honestly, I didn’t expect this gold medal either."

She said, "Before coming to the tournament, even at the Jinchun National Sports Training Center, I heard that the only team with a realistic chance of winning gold in ball sports was the women’s handball team," adding, "But after the men’s basketball team won gold first, it seems that good momentum carried over to us."

Korea’s schedule was also quite tight. The national team had just finished the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup held in Germany before traveling to Japan for the Asian Games. It was impossible not to worry about physical condition and jet lag.

Key players on the Yeo Gi-e (CEO) team, Park Ji-soo (Cheongju KB) and Park Ji-hyun (LA Sparks), were unable to participate in this tournament due to injuries and their respective club schedules.

Coach Yang said, "Since we had just returned from the World Cup, I was very concerned about the players’ condition and jet lag," adding, "I am grateful that the players overcame those challenges well."

Ultimately, the decisive moment of the tournament was the semifinal against China.

The player Korea guarded most closely was China’s ultra-tall center, Zhang Zetian.

Coach Yang recalled, "Our players, except for Jeong Hyeon (Bucheon Hana Bank), said it was the first time they had actually stood next to Zhang Zetian," noting, "It is different from facing a merely tall player. She was truly overwhelmingly large."

She continued, "The players said that when they stood next to her, she was so big that they couldn’t help but laugh. They even thought, 'Are they telling us to push that player away?'"

However, they could not back down simply because of her size. Coach Yang instilled confidence in the flustered players by saying, "So are we just going to lose?"

Centered around Head Coach Park Soo-ho, Korea prepared a tailored defense to stop Zhang Zetian. Coach Yang also contributed to the defensive preparation based on her experience as a big man who represented the national team during her playing days.

The key was not giving Zhang Zetian an easy position and applying pressure from surrounding players so that the ball would not be passed to her easily.

And the players executed their prepared defense properly.

Coach Yang rated the defense against Zhang Zetian as "100 out of 100."

She particularly praised the role of Jin An, who had to face Zhang Zetian in the paint. Standing at 182 centimeters, Jin An was more than 40 centimeters shorter than Zhang Zetian but held her ground with physicality and tenacity.

Coach Yang said, "For the game against China, I told them they didn’t have to score or grab rebounds; they just needed to hold their own against Zhang Zetian," adding, "I instructed them to keep engaging in physical battles, and they handled it well."

The presence of experienced Kang I-seul was also noteworthy.

Coach Yang mentioned that Kang I-seul was not in perfect physical condition around the time of the World Cup, laughing as she said, "Honestly, Kang I-seul got scolded a lot by me during the first to third quarters against China."

Nevertheless, she highly praised her, saying, "There were difficult moments throughout the tournament, but when it came down to the crucial moment, she delivered like an experienced player should."

Indeed, Kang I-seul attempted eight three-pointers without success through the third quarter against China, but in the fourth quarter’s most critical juncture, she hit consecutive shots from outside, laying the foundation for a dramatic comeback.

This gold medal was even more special for Coach Yang.

She herself wore a gold medal as a key big man on the Korean Yeo Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. At the time, Korea prepared for the tournament under the heavy burden of having to win on home soil.

Twelve years later, she experienced the gold medal again, this time as a coach.

The feeling was entirely different. Coach Yang recalled, "As a player, everyone said from a year before the Asian Games that we 'must win the gold medal.' We lived in seclusion for four to five months, running toward that single goal," adding, "So when we won the gold, my first thought was, 'It’s finally over.'"

She continued, "But becoming a coach, I realized the feeling is completely different," saying, "The emotional impact felt from winning game by game until finally taking the medal is enormous."

This tournament also served as a significant learning experience for Coach Yang as a coach.

She said, "As a player, I thought the most important thing was to execute what the coaches instructed well," adding, "But becoming a national team coach allowed me to directly observe the strengths and game management of world-class players and see what the differences are between strong teams and ours, which revealed a lot."

She emphasized, "Being able to see what the trends in basketball are and how strong teams manage their games was a huge study and experience for me."

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*This content was translated by AI.