#who even as a women defeated the odds and reached Olympics final in a men centric game of our country

[mostardently]

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[hussyknee]

Two weeks ago, female wrestler Vinesh Phogat became the first woman from India to make the Olympic finals—and was promptly disqualified for being 100 grams overweight.

On August 9, Vinesh Phogat announced her retirement from the sport of wrestling in a post on X. After the previous day’s incidents, it was a message that many had been expecting.

Vinesh experienced the highest of highs at the Paris Olympics. She defeated an unbeaten Olympic champion wrestler who was considered not just the favourite in her weight division but across every weight division at the quadrennial event. She became the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final. However, Vinesh also faced the lowest of lows at the Olympics. No one had ever reached an Olympic final only to be denied the chance to compete because they had failed to make weight on the day of the competition.

Vinesh had taken her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking at least to be awarded a silver medal by virtue of reaching the final. If she had succeeded, she would have set a precedent, but, much to the disappointment of the nation, her appeal was turned down by the sole arbitrator, Annabelle Bennett.

...

Vinesh has always been a fighter. Tragedy has followed her, yet somehow, against the odds, she has emerged victorious.

When she was nine, her father was shot dead by someone in her village, believed to be a mentally disturbed relative, just outside their front door. Her mother, a young widow, refused the custom of marrying her husband’s brother. She battled cancer single-handedly. Through it all, she raised a firebrand daughter, who refused to back down.

Her cousins, who grew up near her home, were the more famous girls of the family. Geeta and Babita were among the first to win gold at the Commonwealth Games. They had a movie made about them — Dangal — which made the ‘Phogat sisters’ iconic in Indian sports.

Vinesh didn’t feature in that movie. The events described in it took place too early in her career. But she wouldn’t be satisfied with being one of the Phogat sisters — she would become ‘The Phogat’ sister.

Talk to any of her peers .— and even some of her rivals in Indian wrestling – and there is, in some cases, grudging, genuine respect. She is considered the most instinctive and natural wrestler India has ever produced in women’s freestyle wrestling.

Her career is as much a highlight reel as anything out of a movie. No one in women’s wrestling compares. No Indian woman wrestler has won three Commonwealth gold medals as she did in 2014, 2018, and 2022. No one has won an Asian Games gold medal as she did in 2018. No one has won two World Championships medals as she did in 2019 and 2022.

The one medal missing from her collection is the Olympic medal — which she fought bitterly for.

...

Vinesh has had terrible luck at the Olympics — the only competition that seems to matter to Indians. In 2016, she was one of the favourites in the Indian team before her knee was bent out of shape in the quarterfinals. In 2020, she was one of the world’s favourites to medal in the women’s 53kg weight class. Then, suddenly, a freak weight cut left her physically and psychologically broken, unable to coordinate her movements on the mat. She lost to a wrestler she had beaten comfortably just a month before. Now, in Paris, another poor weight cut left her at the lowest point of her wrestling career.

Her battles, though, haven’t been restricted to the mat. Perhaps the most significant one Vinesh has fought has been for the safety of young girls in the sport. In pursuing this fight, she took on one of the most powerful men in Indian sports — Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

When her rivals were preparing for the Olympics, Vinesh was fighting on the streets of New Delhi, where she, and few other fellow wrestlers, accused Brij Bhushan, a five-time member of parliament and the long-time president of the Wrestling Federation, of sexual harassment.

The longer she stayed on the streets, the slimmer her chances on the mat became. Yet, she continued to prioritise what she felt was right. In doing so, Vinesh showed the kind of courage almost uniformly lacking in most sportspersons in India. Most of them, as the saying goes, “crawl when asked to bend.” Vinesh’s spine has been ramrod straight. She had the courage to take on the system without caring about the consequences. She displayed it even though it cost her what she loved the most — the chance to wrestle.

Only when her protest was forced off the streets and entered the court did Vinesh finally get a chance to compete.

This article delves into her struggle to rein in her weight as the Olympic timeline unfolded. It's horrifying to read.

TW for fatphobia and people with eating disorders and body dysmorphia: fatphobia:

Even as she had been winning, Vinesh’s nutritionist had been nervously monitoring her food and fluid intake.

She had a celebratory glass of juice in the morning right after she had first made weight – 300 grams. She had another couple of litres of fluid to rehydrate herself before her bout - another 2000 grams of body weight gained. A couple of light snacks throughout the day to keep her energy up meant 700 grams more.

By the time Vinesh was done with her day’s competition, she weighed 52.7 kg.

August 7:

As the hours rolled into the night, it was clear that something had gone very wrong. After weeks of dehydration, the human body, once it gets rehydrated, simply refuses to give up water. Even urination becomes impossible.

Vinesh didn’t sleep all through the night of August 6. She was on the treadmill for six hours and in the sauna for another three. She didn’t consume a bite of food or drink a drop of water. Every few hours, she stood on a weighing scale. The numbers were getting smaller but not fast enough. In desperation, her coaches trimmed the elastic in the bottom of her costume. They thought of chopping her hair and then did it.

But the scale didn’t budge.

The function of weight classes is to prevent outsized mismatches in strength due to body mass and minimize injury. Pathologizing what is clearly water weight to this extent and subjecting athletes to this kind of psychological torture due to minute variables is simply making what is essentially a safety measure into a punitive arbitrary criteria that has huge implications for racialized fatphobia for female athletes and the reinforcement of toxic diet culture across the board. It's misogynistic, unscientific and fucked. This article goes into more detail about Phogat's career-long battle with her weight— a yo-yo of losing too much, and then too little. Indistinguishable from an eating disorder, only one imposed by the standards of international sports.

You will never convince me that a white athlete would have been disqualified in the lightest weight category for a weight less than a bar of soap. The disqualification retroactively places her dead last, which is added cruelty. The refusal to revise this and even award her a joint silver is just adding racist insult to racist injury.

Phogat spoke two days ago about her devastation at being disqualified by racism and fatphobia with a three page post on twitter.

And on top of all of this, because the Indian National Congress political party welcomed her with a road show that outshone the alt-right BJP's own planned welcome, the Hindutvas in her own country have launched a hate campaign against her.

This copy-paste has "disqualified in Rio 2016" trending on twitter. It's doubly cruel and fatphobic because she wasn't disqualified for being overweight, she sustained a knee injury.

After the witch hunt against Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, I'm just so fucking done with the Olympics. The outsize importance of this competition is nothing but an anvil to break entire careers on and offers female athletes of colour on a platter for all the world's vultures.

[rickhorrow]

10 To Watch : Mayor’s Edition 7119

RICK HORROW’S TOP 10 SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 1 : MAYOR’S EDITION

with Jacob Aere

Ahead of Wimbledon, major brands feature Williams, Kerber. Tech giant SAP has unveiled “Call the Shots,” an interactive, online game that places fans in the shoes of Wimbledon Champ Angelique Kerber the day before a big match and allows fans to use SAP Tennis Analytics to get Kerber match-ready, by using data to make decisions that will help – or potentially hurt – her success on the court the next day - from helping Angie pick the most nutritious breakfast, to selecting her training intensity levels. And Serena Williams is finally gracing the cover of Wheaties, with General Mills announcing the addition of the multi-time Grand Slam champion to its historic lineup of athletes. Said Williams, “I have dreamt of this since I was a young woman and it’s an honor to join the ranks of some of America’s most decorated athletes. I hope my image on this iconic orange box will inspire the next generation of girls and athletes to dream big.” The Wheaties announcement clearly comes in the “It’s about damn time” category of brand initiatives.

So far, NBA free agency headlines have been dominated by the three Ks. NBA free agency began at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, and among the earliest news that broke was the announcement that the Celtics inked Kemba Walker to a reported four-year, maximum salary contract worth $141 million. Almost immediately, the New York Daily News and others reported that Kyrie Irving agreed to a four-year, $141 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets, a move that will "give the Nets a marquee name and elite talent." The Nets certainly weren't done – Kevin Durant then announced on Instagram his decision to leave the Golden State Warriors for the Nets; Durant signed for a reported four-year, $164 million maximum contract. Per the Associated Press, the NBA set the salary cap for 2019-2020 at $109.14 million, an "increase of just more" than $7 million from last season. The tax level will be $132,627,000, and the minimum salary, which is "90% of the cap," will be $98,226,000. That didn't stop teams from making some big league moves.

College athletes in California are a "step closer to being able to make money from the use of their names, images and likenesses," after a state committee passed a bill that would "fundamentally change" how the NCAA conducts business. The California Assembly’s Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media Committee passed the Fair Pay to Play Act, which would take effect January 1, 2023. According to the Los Angeles Times, while the bill would "not allow schools to directly pay athletes, athletes would be able to receive compensation from outside sources." The Los Angeles Daily News noted the bill advanced "despite a letter from NCAA President Mark Emmert last week urging the committee to postpone considering it and warning of dire consequences if the athletes were compensated." The Washington Posts’ Sally Jenkins notes Emmert has "suggested all of California’s postseason competition could be jeopardized if the state allows an athlete to make a profit from his or her own name, picture or signature." Emmert is "bluffing, and California should call him on it." North Carolina has proposed a similar bill, so we now have two major states mounting a serious challenge to NCAA rules.

Ronald McDonald House Charities will be the title sponsor of this year’s Triple-A All-Star Game. The annual game, in which stars of the Triple-A Pacific Coast and International League compete, is scheduled for July 10, at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas, and will be telecast on MLB Network. The deal includes advertising inventory on MLB Network, logos on player uniforms, and static signage within the ballpark. Social and digital media will also support the event. Agency 4Front worked with the host El Paso Chihuahuas to secure the sponsorship. Huntington Bank and Gildan were presenting sponsors of last year’s Triple-A All-Star Game, in Columbus, Ohio. The return on investment for MiLB sponsors, both at their mega events and regular season games, continues to grow.

The 2020 Tokyo Games have "generated record domestic sponsorship revenues" of more than $3 billion, "three times more than any previous summer Games," according to Reuters. IOC Coordination Commission Chair John Coates said that local sponsorship agreements "were up to 62 companies for all three tiers of sponsorship arrangements." He noted that doesn’t “include the partnerships with Toyota, Bridgestone, and Panasonic and their contribution to the TOP program,” which have "separate deals with the IOC." Revenues currently stand at $3.1 billion, and the Tokyo Games now have "15 gold partners, 32 official partners,” and 15 “official supporters." Comparatively, the 2012 London Games raised roughly $1.1 billion from domestic sponsors. Regarding the Coca-Cola-Mengniu Dairy tie up, the Wall Street Journal notes Coca-Cola "didn't give a reason" as to why it is partnering with China Mengniu Dairy Company to share the title of exclusive global beverage sponsor, but the "sharply rising cost of sponsorship may have something to do with it." Olympic sponsorship has become more global, more competitive, and more expensive, pushing even the likes of mighty Coca-Cola to look for a partner.

AEG Facilities, a subsidiary of venue and live entertainment company AEG, has signed an agreement with the Raiders to manage the team’s $2 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium scheduled to open in Las Vegas in August, 2020. AEG Facilities operates the team’s current home, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, now known as RingCentral Coliseum. AEG Facilities President Bob Newman would not disclose the length of the deal and its value but said the agreement is for “several years.” AEG Facilities will manage the day-to-day stadium operations, including booking, ticketing, security, event operations, concessions and human resources, Newman said, adding that the opportunity to manage the Raiders’ new home was a unique moment in time for a professional sports franchise. “You have an iconic brand, in an iconic stadium converging in an iconic destination,” he emphasized. AEG Facilities manages 150 venues and stadiums on three continents, including T-Mobile Arena close to the Raiders new Las Vegas home.

Bleacher Report is harnessing the Women’s World Cup to curate brands around soccer. As the FIFA Women's World Cup intensifies, Bleacher Report is using its data to win over brands who want to grab onto soccer's rising popularity in the U.S. According to The Drum, a white paper from Bleacher Report seems to back up the rising popularity of the sport in America. Bleacher Report's brand partners for the WWC include Adidas, Nike, Hulu, Umbro, Powerade and AT&T. AT&T owns Bleacher Report through its acquisition of Warner Media. To win future advertisers, Bleacher Report – which is reportedly on track to grow 50% this year and reach $200 million in revenue – pooled together its first-party data from its app with a U.S. survey of 2,000 people 13-and-older to track soccer fandom stateside. The report found that 52 million soccer fans are in the U.S., to varying degrees. As the USWNT charges on in the World Cup, defeating France 2-1 on Friday, their extended run will continue to show the high value of soccer in the U.S.

The NBA and its players association launch virtual sports betting product NBA Last 90. According to onlinegambling.com, the new service will give gamblers in the U.S. and Europe the chance to bet on simulated games that feature actual game highlights from the league. The product is set to launch sometime during the 2019-2020 season with fixed odds that control the chances that any given bet will win, which means these games can appear even in jurisdictions where sports betting isn’t legal, but other forms of gambling are permitted. The virtual sports betting features real teams and players, and NBA Last 90 allows players to view the final 90 seconds of a simulated NBA game between two real teams. They can then place bets on who will score first, who will win the game, or the total points to be scored. Additionally, real highlights from recent NBA seasons will be used to stitch together a unique finish to each game. As esports and digital screens grab more attention from the casual bettor, the NBA looks to capitalize on a growing virtual betting audience, which netted nearly $1 billion between April 2017 and May 2018.

OTT is King: DAZN app nets 950% year-on-year revenue growth. According to SportsPro, the mobile OTT platform was the world’s top-grossing app in May, 2019 and has experienced exponential growth throughout the past year. Gross user spending across the month shows that the DAZN’s digital app brought in close to $11.5 million in revenue – more than nine times its income for May 2018. U.S. subscribers represented 35% of DAZN’s consumer-based revenue through its mobile app, while Japan made up 6.5% of its market income. The Japanese based service recently set a new viewership record as the men’s national soccer team took on Chile at Copa America and new services have been launched in the U.S., Italy, Spain, and Brazil since May 2018. DAZN seems to keep growing and is now nearly double the total amount that ESPN grosses in a month. With DAZN’s latest acquisition of the secured rights to the Chinese Super League 2019-2020 seasons for its Italian service, it seems that their expanding OTT global empire won't be slowing down.

F1 will host a charity golf tournament in Austin ahead of U.S. Grand Prix. In support of the world’s leading breast cancer organization, Susan G. Komen, F1 will host “Grid to Green” in conjunction with GOLF Magazine to unite the two sports. The tournament, which will take place the afternoon of October 31 at the Tom Fazio designed Omni Barton Creek Canyons Course, will feature a current or previous legend from the world of motorsport in each group. According to formula1.com, Carlos Sainz Jr, Christian Horner , Zak Brown, Otmar Szafnauer, Damon Hill, Ross Brawn, and Danny Sullivan will all partake in the event. F1 is making a push on all ends to find its way into the U.S. market, and by combining golf and philanthropy will find their way into headlines.

[boloorsportsmania]

#607 16 year old SAURABH Chaudhary grabbed a 24 CARAT gold medal in 10m Air Pistol event; Vinesh Phogat writes her own script for Dangal sequel movie as she becomes first Indian women wrestler to grab gold in Asian games; Deepak , Sanjeev , Divya Sharan, Abhishek also win medals to take Indian medal tally to 6; Indian sport fans google for WUSHU and SEPAKTAKRAW as India either win or have assured medal in these 2 events; Djokovic completes tally of all 9 MASTERS 1000 series wins with 24th career win over Federer; VIRAT Kohli bats like a superstar and Bumrah bowls with lot heart to give India a brilliant chance to win a test in England and more.. :-)

India played 2nd innings with more composure. KL Rahul started with a bang with almost run a ball 36. He was dismissed by Stokes. India 60-0. This was the first time since 1986 that Indian team had 50+ opening partnership in both the innings of a test. Dhawan was good till he went slogging. He was stumped by Rashid. India 111-2. Both Indian openers had chance to make big score but missed the opportunity. Kohli joined Pujara. Things started getting much better for India. bOth brought up fifties. They were hardly troubled. Pujara was dropped later but made a gritty 81. He also could have scored a century but perished to Stokes. He and Kohli had 113 run stand. Kohli rushed to 90s, got lucky when he was dropped by Jennings on 93. He eventually made his century. He was dismissed soon after by Woakes for a brilliant 103. Like first test, he made 200 runs in a test. Hope results will be in favor of India this time. Pandya then hit some lusty blows to take India’s lead past 500. India eventually declared at 352-7. England needed 521 to win. 189 overs were left in the match. England negotiated 9 overs in Day 3 with ease. On Day 4, Ishant started on fire as he dismissed Jennings in very first over and Cook 2 overs later. England 32-2. Pope and Root were shaky but lasted 13 odd overs before Bumrah got the better or Root. Rahul caught it brilliantly in slip. In very next over, Shami dismissed Pope. England 62-4. England looked done and dusted. Had Pant caught Butler, it could have been 65-5. Pant moved wrong direction too quickly and couldn’t grab a tough chance. As it happens most of the times, batsman made India pay for it. He and Stokes looked hardly troubled there after. England reached lunch at 84-4. Post lunch, Kohli over bowled Bumrah and Ashwin. They looked ineffective. They reached tea at 174-4.  Shami was getting reverse swing but England batsman negotiated it well. Of first 68 overs, Kohli just gave 6 obvers to Pandya who grabbed 5  fer in first innings. It is a shocker. He over bowled Ishant and Bumrah. This is something which Dhoni used to do. Cant understand the logic when captains do such crazy things. Last time when Kohli had scored a century and a 90 odd was in Wanderers. He had century stand in 2nd innings with Pujara there too. ABD and Du Plessis almost won the match chasing 430 odd. Wil history repeat itself?  India badly needed a breakthrough and there was hardly any sign of it. India never win a test with comfort. They always make it hard for themselves which is what was happening now? Can England end day at say 300-4? Match could take an interesting turn if it happens.  They took England past 200 and even had 150 plus stand. Butler brought up his maiden test century in the process. Kohli looked worried and frustrated. When captain shows that, wheels start coming off? One bowler had to take stand and create magic ball. India waited for new ball. Butler didn’t offer stroke to Bumrah in cutter. He was plumb in front. As it happens most of times, one wicket follows another. Bairstow was castled of the very next ball. Woakes hit a boundary of hatrick ball. But Bumrah got the better of him in his next over. Woakes was out to short ball again. In next over Pandya dismissed Stokes with a beauty. England were reduced to 241-8 from 231-4. Bumrah dismissed Rashid in his next over but it turned out to be a no ball. Bumrah had a few nightmares with no ball but this was not that critical as India were firm favorites to win and Rashid was no top order batsman. Rashid hit a few lusty blows to frustrate Indian team further. Surprisingly, Bumrah never tried his special Yorkers on Rashid. Kohli dropped Rashid of Shami’s bowling.  They even had 50 run stand. Bumrah eventually grabbed his 5th wicket as he dismissed Broad. Rahul caught his 7th catch for the match(same as Pant). Rashid and Anderson survived remaining overs of the day. England ended day 4 at 311-9. Had Bumrah not bowled that no ball, India could have won by now. Instead, India need to come on final day to take final wicket.  This was the first match in test history that all top 5 batsman have scored in double digit in all 4 innings.

In Cincinnati Open, Djokovic had lost 5 times in the finals and 3 times to his 2018 opponent Federer. Djokovic got the better of him this time winning it 6-4. Djokovic won the first set with only 1 break of serve.  In 2nd set, Federer took 2-0 lead only to be broken back immediately.  Djokovic won the set 6-4 and the match. He thereby became the only player to win all 9 masters 1000 series titles. Djokovic is back and would be hot favorite for this year’s US open.

Day 2 belonged to Vinesh Phogat who became India’s first women wrestler to win gold in Asian games. In Rio Olympics , Vinesh had got injured against China’s Sun Yanan in QF. She faced the same opponent in pre QF in Asian games. She dominated the match to win it. In QF and SF, she just lost 2 points. In finals she outclassed Japan's Yuki Irie 6-2 to win the 50kg final in Jakarta and was then hoisted on the shoulders of team staff draped in the Indian flag. Other wrestlers like Pooja and Sakshi disappointed as they reached SF but lost Bronze match. Deepak Kumar won the silver medal in men’s 10m air rifle event after producing excellent scores at crucial junctures. Deepak shot 247.7 to finish second on the podium behind China’s Haoran Yang, who won the top prize with a Games record 249.1 at the JSC Shooting Range of this port city.

16 year Saurabh Chaudhary who created world record in 10 m Air Pistol event in Junior world cup recently outclassed former Asian and Olympic medalist 42 year old Matsuda from japan. Sandeep had score of 240.7 as against 239.7 by Matsuda.  Abhishek Verma grabbed Bronze. Sanjeev Rajput, 37, looked set for the gold before having a modest standing series in the 50 3 positions rifles final. It was the first individual medal for the former Navy man at the Asian Games, having won team medals in the previous three editions. Indian team won bronze in sepaktakraw which was a pleasant surprise. India's wrestler Divya Kakran wins bronze medal in women's freestyle 68kg defeating Chinese Taipei's Chen Wenling 10-0. India beat Thailand 49-3 vs Thailand in Kabaddi. They are assured of SF spot. Santosh Kumar and Sanda are assured of Bronze medal in Wushu as they reach SF. Rohan Bopanna reached QF in both mens doubles (Divij Sharan) and mixed doubles(Ankita Rani). Indian mens and womens team were knocked out in team badminton event in QF by Japan and Indonesia respectively. This came as a huge disappointment.  Indian mens hockey team beat Indonesia 17-0.Indian womens team went a step ahead and beat Kazakhstan 21-0.

[clusterassets]

New world news from Time: Son Heung-min Wants to Bring World Cup Glory to South Korea

Son Heung-min does not look like a man burdened by the weight of national expectation as he strides into a studio in Seoul’s Gangnam neighborhood. The South Korean soccer star changes into his national team shirt and pulls long red socks up over his shins before breaking out his trademark grin for the photographer, eyes sparkling and smile lines crinkling his cheeks. “In every country I’ve gone to, if you smile at people, they are going to be happy. This is my attitude,” Son, 25, tells TIME. A platitude, perhaps, but to this reporter at least, it works.

Son’s natural brightness belies the responsibility he will face as South Korea’s talisman at the World Cup, which will kick off in Russia on June 14. As a forward for the English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur club, he has become the top Asian goal scorer in the elite league’s history. And as a two-time Asian Football Confederation Asian International Player of the Year, he is aware that it is not only national pride that’s at stake. The fact that young soccer players across the region are dreaming of emulating his career gives him “goose bumps,” he says. “At Tottenham Hotspur, we can share the pressure, but on the South Korea team, some of the players have more pressure than others,” Son acknowledges. At the same time, though, that stress motivates him. “How many people have pressure like this?” he asks. “I’m such a lucky guy.”

The pressure may be even greater at this World Cup as South Korean soccer’s big outing on the world stage is at risk of being eclipsed by theater of a political kind. The on-again, off-again summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump is now apparently on again on June 12, two days before the tournament begins, and the North and South have agreed to hold military talks on its opening day.

The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in February shone a spotlight on the role that international sports competitions can play in defusing tensions between nations. Following a year of missile tests and saber rattling, North and South Korea marched under one flag at the opening ceremony. The North did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but that does not mean Son hasn’t considered playing for a unified team some day. “I dream of it,” he says. “Of course people would be happy to see us playing together because we are one country.”

Soccer’s popularity soared in South Korea after the country co-hosted the World Cup with Japan in 2002. At 9 years old, Son watched, besotted, as the Reds defeated European soccer giants Portugal, Spain and Italy to reach the semifinal stage of the tournament.

Son was soon picked to train with the youth academy at FC Seoul, and left South Korea at age 16 to join German Bundesliga club Hamburg S.V. He later played for Bayer Leverkusen. Those first years in Europe were tough, he says, and though he now speaks German and English, the learning curve was steep.

When he signed for Tottenham at a reported cost of about $30 million in 2015, Son became the most expensive Asian soccer player in history. He has justified his price tag by becoming the team’s second highest scorer this past season. His sunny demeanor made him a hit with his North London teammates, whom he treated to a Korean barbecue buffet shortly after his arrival to the U.K. He says they regularly ask him to perform “Gangnam Style,” the 2012 hit by South Korean pop star Psy. Spurs fans prefer to chant the Beatles song “Here Comes the Sun” when he runs out onto the field.

Kim Hong-Ji—ReutersSoccer Football – International Friendly – South Korea vs Bosnia and Herzegovina – Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju, South Korea – June 1, 2018 South Korea’s Son Heung-Min in action with Bosnia’s Haris Duljevic REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

He has yet to have such success with the Reds since making his senior World Cup debut in Brazil in 2014. South Korea failed to advance beyond the group stages that year, and in a traditional Korean insult, angry fans pelted the players with candy upon their return when they landed at Incheon International Airport.

Son’s national expectations extend beyond soccer. All able-bodied men in South Korea are mandated to start 21 months of military service before age 28, and Son, like many younger sports stars, has yet to perform his. Still, it can become a national scandal when a celebrity is thought to have dodged the draft; after Korean-American pop star Steve Yoo avoided military service by becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2002, he was banned from re-entering South Korea.

For Son, who will turn 26 in July, a two-year absence from the game would mean missing what are usually considered a soccer player’s peak years. The possibility vexes not only South Koreans but also Tottenham Hotspur’s passionate fan base. Asked if it is weighing on his teammates’ minds, Son says military service doesn’t come up often: “I think we are not talking much about that.” His agent cuts off any more questions about the subject. An exit clause for Son exists in the form of the Asian Games, which will be held in Indonesia in August. Gold medalists are exempted from military service, and Son could yet play for the team. Some of his teammates are already exempt from full military service, having taken the field when South Korea won gold at the 2014 Asian Games or bronze at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Son’s first priority, though, is helping South Korea get through a tough World Cup group that includes defending champions Germany and well-regarded Mexico and Sweden. “We are the weakest team in the group, so we need to work more than them. We need to run more than them—then we can surprise people,” he says.

The night before our meeting on June 2, a few hundred South Korean fans had gathered in a plaza in central Seoul to watch Son, captain Ki Sung-yueng and the team play their final domestic warm-up game before the World Cup. In the breezy evening some wore red attire and waved the national flag. But the Bosnia and Herzegovina team easily breached the Reds’ defense, and groans rang out when opposition winger Edin Visca completed his hat trick to end the game 3-1. “Four days ago, we played against Honduras and won 2-0. The press, everyone, was talking about we are doing well,” Son says.“Four days later we lost, and they’re being negative. But that’s football. And we just need to focus on our football.”

Even with Son, South Korea’s odds at the World Cup are long: FIFA ranks the team 61st in the world. And despite the sport’s popularity in the region, other Asian teams fare little better: Japan ranks 60th and China 73rd. (Asia’s women’s teams rank higher.) What would it take to bring Asian nations into contention with the European and South American stalwarts at the top of the FIFA rankings? Hanjin Chun, general secretary of the Korea Football Association, says that while Asian stars like Son playing in Europe drum up enthusiasm at home, “you can’t have every player in your national team playing abroad.” A stronger domestic league “is a must,” he says.

It’s clear that Son enjoys being an elder statesman for the younger players on the squad. He benefited himself from the advice of his father Son Woong-jung, a player in the domestic K-league before he sustained a career-ending injury at age 28. The elder Son helped his son hone his technique, and meticulously drilled his once weak left foot. He also repeatedly warned of how physically and mentally exhausting the game could be. As a kid with big dreams, Son says, that advice went over his head, “but at 25, I know what he means.” Son wears a splint on one of his fingers from a recent injury. A scar runs along the inside of his forearm, which he broke last year helping South Korea qualify for the World Cup.

He’s made less visible sacrifices too: his agent says that when he goes out in Seoul, he wears a cap and a surgical mask—commonly worn here when people are sick—to avoid being mobbed by fans. These are minor costs, though. “I want to play football until my body says, ‘You can’t run any more, you’re dead,’” he says. “Football is my happiness.” And with that, Son’s smile comes beaming back.

With reporting by Charlie Campbell/Beijing and Stephen Kim and Ha Yeon Kim/Seoul

June 07, 2018 at 09:10PM ClusterAssets Inc., https://ClusterAssets.wordpress.com