The Korean men’s wheelchair basketball team at the Hangzhou 2022 ParaAsian Games has won three straight games before the opening ceremony.
The team, led by Ko Kwang-yup, defeated Malaysia 63-29 in the third game of their Group B wheelchair basketball tournament at the Hangzhou Olympic Center Gymnasium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, on Tuesday.
South Korea, which thrashed Chinese Taipei 67-21 in the first game on Sept. 19, also defeated powerhouse Japan 52-38 on Sept. 20, the day after winning a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, to record its third straight victory.도메인
South Korea, looking to regain the title nine years after the 2014 Incheon Games, rotated its one-two punch of Cho Seung-hyun (39 Chuncheon Tigers) and Kim Dong-hyun (35 Jeju Samdasu) out of the starting lineup.
Still, South Korea was strong. They led 23-11 in the first quarter alone. Korea played a flawless second quarter, conceding just four goals and six in the third, and cruised to victory.
Lim Dong-ju (35, Coway Blue Wheels) scored 12 points, including one three-pointer, while Kim Sang-yeol (40, Chuncheon Tigers) added 10 points and eight rebounds and Cho Seung-hyun chipped in with 10 points.
South Korea will look to solidify its group lead when it faces Kuwait in its final group game on Nov. 24. If Korea finishes first in Group B, it will play the second-place team from Group A for a spot in the final on Saturday.
Meanwhile, wheelchair basketball, which was invented in England in 1945 to rehabilitate people with spinal cord injuries, is now played in 97 countries around the world.
The playing field is the same size as that of able-bodied basketball, with some differences in rules, such as allowing double-doubles. Players are assigned a sport classification by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), ranging from 1 to 4.5, with the lower the classification the more limited their physical activity.
The total number of athletes on the court must not exceed 14.
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