South Korea’s sports authority says they will take appropriate measures to address Soonwoo Kwon‘s racket-smashing incident at the Asian Games.
Earlier this week, Kwon suffered a shock exit from the tournament after losing 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej in the second round who is ranked more than 500 places lower than the world No.112. The 25-year-old was seeded fourth in the draw and considered a strong contender to win a medal.
Immediately after losing that match, a video went viral of Kwon repeatedly smashing his racket on the ground out of anger. He also ignored efforts made by Samrej to shake hands with him on the court and instead walked off. The behavior prompted swift criticism from many in the sport and South Korea’s vice minister of culture, sports and tourism branded his reaction as “regretful.”
Following the incident, Kwon visited Thailand’s training case to apologise for his actions. The tennis player has also issued a letter of apology on social media for what he describes as a ‘careless act.’
“I sincerely apologise to all the Korean people who support the national team and to the fans at the stadium. I’m sorry,” he wrote.
“I once again sincerely apologise to Samrej, who would have been offended by my rude behaviour.
“I sincerely regret it and am reflecting on my actions after the match.”
However, this may not be the end of it for Kwon with his country’s Olympic sporting body pondering if they need to take any additional action. The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) hasn’t ruled out the prospect of possibly implementing a penalty of some sort on Kwon following a review into the matter.
“We will take appropriate measures for the situation through a comprehensive review after the Games come to an end,” the KSOC said in a statement.
Kwon has been ranked as high as No.52 in the world and has won two ATP titles with the most recent of them being this year at the Adelaide International. He is the first player from his country to have won multiple trophies on the ATP Tour in the Open Era.
