Kwon Soon-woo sees medal hopes of avoiding mandatory military service fade after failing to win Asian Games

Kwon Soon-woo fell at the Asian Games and will have to undergo mandatory military service after failing to win an Asian Games medal.

Despite being the highest-ranked male player in his country, he lost in the second round to a significantly lower-ranked player and withdrew from the doubles in the semifinals.

South Korea's military service law requires healthy men aged 18 to 28 to serve in the military for approximately 1.5 to 2 years. However, prominent figures in sports and culture can obtain exemptions if they win gold medals at the Olympics or Asian Games.

Previous examples include Son Heung-min and Chung Hyeon, who, despite their achievements as gold medalists, still had to complete a basic military training of four weeks.

The tennis player had the opportunity to obtain an exemption at the Asian Games by winning the gold medal. He was the fourth seed in a draw that featured only three players in the top 100: China's Zhizhen Zhang (60th), Yibing Wu (100th), and Japan's Yosuke Watanuki (77th).

However, Kwon Soon-woo ended up losing in his debut in the second round (bye first round) to the world No. 634 Kasidit Samrej, a 22-year-old from Thailand, with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 4-6.

Kwon Soon-woo and his recent doubles partner, Hong Seongchan, aged 26, will soon join the military to fulfill their military service, where they must complete at least 18 months of service.

The South Korean had a strong start to the season at the Adelaide International 2, where he advanced from qualifying as a lucky loser and went on to win his second ATP 250 tournament, defeating players like Pablo Carreño Busta, Mikael Ymer, Jack Draper, and Roberto Bautista Agut. Unfortunately, injuries prevented Kwon from regularly competing on the ATP Tour this year, and he was absent from February until the recent US Open, where he was eliminated in the first round by Christopher Eubanks.