Asian Games 2023: South Korean tennis player smashes racquet to pieces and refuses to shake Thai opponent’s hand after loss
- Kwon Soon-woo loses the plot after three-set defeat by Thailand’s Samrej Kasidit in men’s singles tennis event
- South Korean – ranked more than 500 places above his opponent – refuses to shake hands in unsavoury incident
South Korea was caught up in another embarrassing controversy at the Asian Games on Monday with men’s tennis player Kwon Soon-woo smashing his racquet to pieces after an unexpected loss in the second round.
When Thailand’s Samrej Kasidit served the final blow, sealing a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win in Hangzhou, Kwon – ranked more than 500 places higher than his opponent at No 112 – slammed his racquet against the ground repeatedly.
The 25-year-old then walked toward the sidelines and continued smashing his racquet against the legs of his changeover chair.
Having put his racquet down for a moment, Kwon decided he was still angry, and picked it back up to continue whacking the hard court with it.
World No 636 Samrej approached the South Korean to shake hands, but Kwon ignored him, not even sparing a glance. Samrej then left Kwon alone and bowed to a cheering crowd.
It was a second unsavoury incident in as many days for the South Korean delegation in Hangzhou, after judo athlete Lee Hye-kyeong was disqualified on Sunday.
Just like on Sunday, Monday’s incident went viral on Chinese social media, with fans giving the topic over 6 million views on Weibo.
One shocked user wrote: “Players should love their racquets just like pianists love their fingers, photographers love their eyes, and soldiers love their guns. No wonder this kind of person loses. I suggest that this kind of person who disrespects the game be banned from the game for life.”
“It was no different from the slap yesterday,” another fan said. “It was a disgrace to the Korean team. It had no sportsmanship.”
Kwon still has a shot at glory in the men’s doubles with partner Hong Seong-chan. The pair won a first-round match 6-2, 6-2 against Hong Kong’s Davis Cup duo Coleman Wong Chak-lam and Jack Wong Hong-kit, and are into the third round.
Kwon reached the quarterfinals of the men’s singles tournament at the 2018 Jakarta Games, as well as the last 16 in the men’s doubles. He also reached the round of 32 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
