Im Sungjae and Kim Siwoo "Will They Compete in the Hangzhou Asian Games"?... Military Service Exemption?

KGA National Team Selection Criteria Announced: Top 2 Male World Rankings + 2 Amateurs, 1 Female Pro + 2 Amateurs

Im Sung-jae (left) and Kim Si-woo are now eligible to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Two professionals will be selected based on world rankings."

The Korea Golf Association (KGA) announced on the 23rd that "the day before, the Performance Improvement Committee held a meeting to finalize the selection criteria for the men's and women's representatives for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games in September." For the men, four players will be selected: two professionals and two amateurs based on the world rankings as of April 25, just before the entry deadline. Among the amateurs, the national representative who wins the KGA President's Cup held at the end of March will be selected first, and the remaining spot will be decided through a qualifying tournament among the other five players and the top six from the President's Cup.

Currently, Sungjae Im (24), ranked 24th in the world, and Siwoo Kim (27), ranked 54th, are the leading candidates. Asian Games gold medalists are especially eligible for military service exemptions. Previously, Kyung-tae Kim (36) and Sung-hoon Kang (35) won gold medals as amateurs at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, and Min-hwi Kim (30) and Kyung-hoon Lee (31) did so at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. This year, with the inclusion of professional players, competition to wear the Taegeuk mark has become fierce. Kyung-hoon Lee (31) is ranked 77th, and Juhyung Kim (20) is ranked 83rd.

For the women, the team will consist of one professional and two amateurs. Priority candidates include Jin-young Ko (27), ranked 1st, Inbee Park (34, KB Financial Group), ranked 4th, Sei-young Kim (29), ranked 6th, and Hyo-joo Kim (27), ranked 12th. Unlike the men, there is an interesting difference in temperature. September is a period when the LPGA Tour runs every week in the United States. If a player declines, the next highest-ranked player among the top 10 will be given priority, and then the spot will be passed to an amateur. The golf event at the Hangzhou Asian Games will open on September 15 at the West Lake International Golf Club.

Since the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games in India, Korea has swept 13 gold medals in golf. The highlight was the "clean sweep of all four events" in both men's and women's individual and team competitions at the 2006 Doha and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. At the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, Gyeol Park (26, Samil Pharmaceutical) was the only gold medalist. However, at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, Korea suffered the humiliation of "no gold medals" for the first time in 20 years. The men earned a silver medal in the individual event and a bronze in the team event, while the women secured a silver medal in the team event.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.