Women's Basketball Team to Compete in Nagoya with 11 Players as Park Ji-su Fails to Join

The women's basketball national team heading to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will compete with a roster of 11 players, minus star players Park Ji-hyun and Park Ji-su.

The Korea Basketball Association announced today (September 14) that "among the 13 players previously announced for intensive training, Park Ji-hyun and Park Ji-su will not be joining, and the team will head to the Asian Games with 11 players," adding that "no additional selections will be made to fill the vacancies left by the two players."

Led by head coach Park Suho, the women's basketball team will kick off its Asian Games schedule with its first Group C match of the group stage against Malaysia on the 18th.

The national team had previously finalized a 13-player training roster including Park Ji-su and Park Ji-hyun, entering training in July, and prepared for the Asian Games by playing an away evaluation match in Japan in August and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup this month.

Park Ji-hyun, who plays in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), was originally set to participate only in the World Cup according to her team Los Angeles Sparks schedule. Ahead of the Asian Games, whether Park Ji-su, who was recovering from an injury, would be able to play was a key variable, but it ultimately fell through.

The Basketball Association explained, "Park Ji-su showed a strong will to join the national team and maintained constant communication with the coaching staff, striving for recovery while leaving open the possibility of participating in the tournament, but after comprehensively considering her current physical condition and recovery status, she was ultimately unable to join."

Head coach Park Suho stated, "The players have been training together since the summer, building chemistry and team organization. It is unfortunate that Park Ji-su cannot be with us, but rather than replacing her with a new player at this point, we will focus on and supplement the teamwork the 11 players have built so far to play well at the Asian Games."

The national team will arrive in Nagoya tomorrow (September 15) and play its group stage matches sequentially against Malaysia on the 18th, Mongolia on the 21st, and Chinese Taipei on the 22nd.
(Photo provided by Korea Basketball Association, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.