South Korean tennis player apologizes for bad behavior at Asiad
Kwon Soon-woo smashes his racquet to pieces after losing his second-round men's singles match at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Monday.
South Korea's tennis player Kwon Soon-woo apologized to the public for his unsportsmanlike conduct at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, where he smashed his racquet to pieces and refused to shake his opponent's hands after a loss, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old said in an apology letter released by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee on the same day that he was sincerely apologizing to his Thai opponent Samrej Kasidit, who was offended by his disrespectful behavior.
"As a player representing my country, I committed a rash act that I shouldn't have done," the letter read. "I am sorry."
Kwon Soon-woo's handwritten apology letter released by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee
During a men's singles match on Monday, Kwon, ranked No.112 in the world, slammed his racquet against the ground repeatedly after a three-set defeat to Samrej, who is ranked over 500 places below him.
He then walked to the sideline and continued to smash his racquet against the leg of his changeover chair. Having put it down for a while, he picked the racquet back up again and continued to hit the ground hard with it in anger.
When Samrej came up to the South Korean to shake hands, Kwon ignored him, without even giving him a glance. The Thai player then greeted the cheering crowd and left the court.
