England Premier League star Son Heung-min won’t have to do national service and instead can see out his contract with Tottenham Hotspur uninterrupted after South Korea won gold in the Asian Games final against Japan.
After the first 90 minutes ended 0-0, South Korea opened the scoring three minutes into extra time. Son dribbled in the penalty area and knocked the ball to avoid a defender, allowing teammate Lee Seungwoo to run onto it and drill it into the net.
In the 101st minute, Hawang Hee Chan headed home Son’s corner to make it 2-0.
Japan’s Ayase Ueda scored later from a header, but the Koreans held on, with a grinning Son embracing his teammates at the final whistle.
The victory for Son and his teammates added to the Korean medal tally, bringing it to 49 golds at the games, the third highest total for this edition of the tournament, after Japan and table-topping China.
Under the country’s law, all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to perform at least 21 months of military service. The Defense Ministry has pledged to reduce the term to 18 months by 2020.
Lucky addition
Son’s addition in the squad — he’s one of three overage players allowed under the Games‘ Olympic-like rules — was a lucky get-out for the pacy forward after he missed his chance for exemption in 2014, when the South Korean team also won Asian Games gold.
At the time his German Bundesliga club, Bayer Leverkusen, refused to release him — the tournament isn’t officially recognized by FIFA, and clubs aren’t obliged to release their stars.
