Women's Basketball Key Scorer Choi Lee-sem: "Our Goal Is Joint Medals for Men and Women"

Wearing the Taegeuk mark on her chest, veteran women's basketball national team player Choi Lee-sem has become even fiercer.

Having played a stellar role at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup held ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, she played her senior role to the hilt by pouring in 19 points in the Asian Games opener as well.

South Korea announced a fresh start by routing Malaysia 106-40 in the Group C preliminary match 1st leg of the tournament held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, today (the 18th).

Meeting reporters in the joint interview zone (mixed zone) after the match, Choi Lee-sem said, "Our goal is joint medals for both the men and women," adding, "I hope the men's basketball national team, which plays in the semifinals in the afternoon, wins a gold medal and passes that good energy on to us."

Having briefly returned home after completing the World Cup schedule that concluded on the 9th before immediately heading into this tournament, Choi picked jet lag as her biggest hardship.

She conveyed, "By the time I adapted to the time difference in Germany, I had to return to Korea, and after staying in Korea for about four days, I moved straight to Japan," adding, "I still cannot sleep well, so I am in a state of some fatigue."

Even so, she resolved, "This is also something we must overcome," adding, "If I lead the younger players well as a senior, all the players will do well, and I believe my own performance will continue to rise."

Today, South Korea seemed less than fully warmed up, suffering from a field goal slump for about 3 minutes and 30 seconds early in the game to tie 4-4.

Choi Lee-sem, who was substituted in at this moment, pierced the offensive flow by landing a refreshing 3-pointer while trailing 6-8.

Using this as a turning point, South Korea rattled off 9 unanswered points to turn the tide 22-10 and never relinquished the lead even once thereafter.

Choi Lee-sem emphasized, "As the national team pursues fast basketball, I will show speed and strong defense on the court."

Meanwhile, the national team's youngest-tier player, Hong Yu-sun, played a meaningful Asian Games debut today.

A fourth-generation Zainichi Korean born in Osaka, Hong Yu-sun spent her school days in Japan and moved to the Korean stage after being selected as the number one overall pick in the 2024–2025 Women's Korean Basketball League (WKBL) rookie draft.

This time, wearing the Taegeuk mark, she visited her hometown of Japan to play her first Asian Games match.

Hong Yu-sun said, "Since the tournament is being held in Japan, I definitely want to show my acquaintances my improved self compared to my high school days," adding, "I am so thrilled to have this opportunity, and I have a strong desire to do even better."

She continued with a wide smile, "Although they could not come today, a group of about ten people, including my mother and relatives, are scheduled to come cheer starting from the match on the 21st."

However, she could not hide her regret regarding her performance in the opener.

Despite performing well with 9 points and 12 rebounds while playing 20 minutes and 49 seconds today, Hong self-reproached, "There were frequent turnovers, and there were many scenes where I missed balls that I could have easily caught in loose ball situations."

At the same time, she fortified her determination, saying, "No matter how much playing time I am given, once I step onto the court, I will fight fiercely under the basket, take charge of the dirty work, and play with all my might."

※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.