(Asian Games) Hockey player puts injury behind to take one final crack

JAKARTA, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- When South Korea won the gold medal in women's field hockey at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, two-time Olympian Kim Young-ran was only there with the team in spirit.

She had to pull out just one week before the start of the tournament due to a nagging knee injury. And her teammates honored the fallen veteran during the medal ceremony by holding up her No. 4 uniform at the top of the podium.

Kim, now 33, has come out of retirement to take perhaps one last crack at the Asian Games here in Jakarta. And she'd like nothing more than to be there in person if South Korea once again reaches the highest place on the podium.

"The coaching staff gave me a new opportunity, and I am grateful to be back on the team," Kim said after practice at GBK Hockey Field on Thursday. "Given my age, this may well be my last competition with the national team. I'd like to end my career on a high note."

Kim represented South Korea at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. She was on the silver medal-winning team at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

Kim was forced into retirement after Incheon 2014 and briefly coached a high school team. But she still had an itch to compete, and her knees gradually got better.

Barely two years into her retirement, Kim was back playing.

In women's field hockey at the Asian Games, South Korea and China have combined for eight of nine gold medals so far. China won three straight titles from 2002 to 2010 before South Korea ended that streak in 2014. India and Japan are also considered threats.

Kim said she is confident that South Korea will be rewarded for its hard work.

"If we do our best in every game we play, then I think a medal will naturally follow," Kim added.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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