Tears and tears.
The goalkeeper for the Korean women’s handball team, Oh Yong-ran, and right wing Woo Sun-hee couldn't staunch the flow of tears after their final match as South Korean national handball team athletes.

Since 1993 when Oh first joined the team, she has participated in four past Olympic Games as an athlete on the national squad, her first time being at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, and she was also on the team in Beijing in 2008. After that, she retired, but came back to guard Korea’s goal for the Korean women’s national handball team’s journey to Rio.

In an interview after South Korea’s match with Argentina, her final game, her eyes were filled with tears when she talked about her feelings concerning the younger Korean athletes.

“Before the game, I told my team that this could be my final game, which made them cry even before the game began. I regret this, as it could have made them feel more burdened,” Oh said tearfully.

The story of the Korean women's handball team at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games was made into the film “Forever The Moment" in 2008 (우리 생애 최고의 순간). Oh was the real heroine of the movie. At the Athens Olympic Games, the team fought against Denmark in the final. Despite have extra time added twice, they ended up losing the game and regrettably only won the silver medal.



Having retired in 2014, Woo Sun-hee also came back to the team with Oh. When team coach Lim Young-chul asked her to join the team again, it was five months after giving birth to a daughter. Wu became a national athlete once again and completed the rigorous training schedule. Her efforts were an exemplary example for the younger athletes on the team.





After coming to a beautiful conclusion by winning the final match against Argentina, Wu confessed that, “I had a responsibility to win a game in the Olympics before I retired. I cried even before the game started.”





Oh Yong-ran and Woo Sun-hee couldn't win any medal in Rio, not even making it to the semifinals, which a Korean team has never lost. Nonetheless, the two athletes’ tears didn't seem to be entirely from remorse.

Their passion and continued love for handball is a living legend and proof that the Olympic spirit, as laid down by Pierre de Coubertin himself, still flows strongly in Korean sports, as, “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.”

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Yonhap News
arete@korea.kr