"Didn't even cut my nails," announcer Ko Kang-yong moved to tears over men's basketball gold... MBC tops ratings

*This content was translated by AI.

MBC announcer Ko Kang-yong congratulated the Republic of Korea Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team on winning its first Asian Games gold medal in 12 years.

On the 21st, Ko expressed his feelings via his SNS: "I sincerely congratulate the Republic of Korea Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team on winning the gold medal. It was an honor to broadcast our golden generation's national team matches."

He added, "In fact, there was a problem with the microphone during the opening, so we had to quickly move studios. I was quite anxious that all my efforts to prevent any variables from derailing our path to gold—such as not cutting my nails or continuing to wear the same shirt throughout the tournament in case our winning streak ended—might be in vain."

He then revealed his joy, saying, "I only realized after the game ended that this was also a kind of buildup for the gold medal. The background color of the studio we moved to was the color of the gold medal."

Announcer Ko Kang-yong also expressed his deep respect for the players. He said, "My admiration for the 12th players never wavered throughout the broadcast. I was proud of the players who turned my doubts into belief. It feels like we won't have to wait another 12 years for the next gold medal. I was happy."

He also expressed gratitude to commentator Ha Seung-jin, who joined him in the broadcast. Ko said, "Thank you for loving the chemistry between me and Commissioner Ha Seung-jin. Knowing KCC's history as deeply as he does made the entire broadcast comfortable. Thank you for watching MBC so much. Starting tomorrow, we will set off again toward the women's basketball gold medal—the first in 12 years."

Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO) team reached the summit by defeating Japan in a closely contested final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's basketball tournament held on the 20th. This marks the first time South Korean men's basketball has won an Asian Games gold medal since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, ending a 12-year drought.

According to data compiled by ratings specialist Nielsen, MBC achieved a national viewership rating of 5.0 percent and ranked first in the men's basketball final broadcast featuring co-hosts Ko Kang-yong and Ha Seung-jin. This figure represents the pure game viewership recorded from the start of the match at 7:40 p.m. until the gold medal was confirmed at 9:29 p.m.

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*This content was translated by AI.