[Asian Games] 'Miss Korea and Special Forces Veteran' Kabaddi Warrior Woo Hee-jun Fails to Win Medal

All Defeated in Second Group Stage Match
Clash with Taiwan on 4th in Third Match... Group Stage Elimination Confirmed

Woo Hee-jun, a former Miss Korea and ex-special forces officer, who is a national kabaddi player, failed to challenge for a medal as the Korean team lost in the group stage.

On the 3rd, the women's Kabaddi Group A preliminary match between Korea and India was held at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, during the Hangzhou Asian Games. Korea's Woo Hee-jun is competing in the match.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 2nd, the women's kabaddi national team lost 23:56 to India in the Group A group stage match held at the Xiaoshan Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. They had also lost 23-43 to Thailand in the first match held the previous day.

Kabaddi is a traditional Indian sport that combines elements of martial arts, tag, rugby, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling. The game is played on a mat with teams divided into offense and defense, resembling a combat match. Each half lasts 20 minutes (15 minutes for women), with 7 defenders and 1 attacker engaging in a kind of ‘tag’ game.

The attacker (Raider) chants “Kabaddi” while entering the opponent’s territory, using hands and feet to touch the opposing defenders’ bodies and then returning to their own side to score points. The defenders (Anti) try to prevent the raider from returning to their side.

The national team will face Taiwan in the third group stage match at 4:50 PM on the 4th (Korean time). The tournament is structured with 7 teams divided into two groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals. Having lost two matches, Korea’s elimination from the group stage is confirmed.

Woo, who began her kabaddi career in 2013 and earned the Taegeuk mark in 2015, participated in the Asian Games following the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games. After the Jakarta Games, she placed in the Miss Korea pageant in 2019 and served in the Army Special Warfare Command’s International Peace Support Group, including deployment to Lebanon in 2021.

Even while deployed overseas, Woo’s passion for kabaddi did not wane, and after her discharge in June, she passed the selection trials and rejoined the national team.

Woo said, “I have experience winning gold medals or first place in the Asian Championships and other tournaments, but as a player, it is very disappointing not to have a medal in the biggest competition.”

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