South Korean handball star Ryu Eun-hee has been around the sport long enough to remember days when her country used to dominate Japan.
And when Japan turned the tables and hammered South Korea 29-19 to seize the gold medal at the Asian Games in China on Thursday, Ryu could relate to how Japanese players must have felt when they kept losing to South Korea.
"I think they beat us playing the way we used to play, forcing some easy misses," Ryu said after settling for silver at Zhejiang Gongshang University Sports Centre in Hangzhou. "They played some great help defense, and blocked our passing and shooting lanes really well. I could even say we beat ourselves to some degree."
Ryu tied for the team lead with three goals, but she needed 10 shots to get those three. South Korea connected on just 40 percent of its shots, while Japan made 29 out of its 51 shots, a 57 percent rate.
Japan also scored seven goals on fast breaks, compared with just three by South Korea.
Ryu said South Korea gradually lost its collective confidence as Japan jumped out to an early lead.
South Korea's only lead of the game came at 1-0 on Ryu's goal at 2:20 mark. Japan had a 7-2 advantage by 13:25 mark and mostly cruised the rest of the way.
"I think we started passing the buck to each other when the deficit kept growing," Ryu said. "We got outrun to begin with, and we hit a few too many goal posts."
Ryu added that South Korea's signature perseverance went missing on this night.
"We've always been a resilient bunch. And we figured we could come back from five or six goals back," she said. "But I think we put too much pressure on ourselves trying to win this match."
Ryu said she shed tears after the loss because she was disappointed in herself.
"I am the most senior player here, and I don't think I did what I was supposed to do," Ryu said. "I made too many mistakes."
South Korea came into this contest having won seven of the eight gold medals awarded in women's handball at Asian Games. The only two competitions where South Korea didn't win gold both took place in China: 2010 in Guangzhou and Thursday in Hangzhou.
Source: Yonhap News Agency