Tottenham forward Son Heung-min can expect to win exemption from full military service for South Korea after his countrymen triumphed 2-1 in the football final of the Asian Games.
By Press Association Sport staff
September 1 2018 2:13 PM
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min can expect to win exemption from full military service for South Korea after his countrymen triumphed 2-1 in the football final of the Asian Games.
South Korean law requires all able-bodied men to complete almost two years of service in the nation’s army, navy or air force and Son, 26, and his team-mates knew their only chance of avoiding duty under the current conscription regulations was to win gold in West Java, Indonesia.
The quest for glory – and in Son’s case the freedom to fulfil his five-year contract at Spurs – was arduous as Japan’s under-23 side, who had kept four clean sheets on their way to the final, held firm for 90 minutes, even scaring South Korea with solid efforts from Kota Watanabe and Yuto Iwasaki.
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But South Korea were the dominant side, with tournament top-scorer Hwang Ui-jo spurning several golden chances as Son regularly tormented Japan down the left.
The dam finally broke a few minutes into extra-time as substitute Lee Seung-woo of Hellas Verona collected a pass from Son and rocketed the ball into the top corner. It was 2-0 when Son won a free-kick before floating it over to Hwang Hee-chan, who headed home.
Perhaps guilty of switching off given the comfortable margin, South Korea conceded to Ayase Ueda at the death.
Press Association
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