Members of South Korea’s men’s field hockey team were left bewildered on Friday after North Korea’s national anthem was played in error before their Asian Games match against Bangladesh.
Unsure how to react, the players stood looking on as the music played. Several remained at attention, some ran their hands through their hair, and others held their hands over their hearts.
Event organisers quickly corrected the error and played the proper anthem. South Korea went on to win 5-0 ahead of the official opening of the Asian Games on Saturday.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency described the event as an “awkward mishap.” Yonhap reported: “Standing with their hands over their hearts in front of the unfurled South Korean flag, the South Korean players could not hide their bewilderment.”
The news outlet added: “Belatedly realizing the mistake, the organizing committee played Bangladesh’s national anthem first before playing South Korea’s. However, pressed for time ahead of the scheduled match start, the referee instructed players to exchange greetings while the South Korean anthem was still playing, forcing South Korean athletes to start the match without being able to sing the anthem.”
Early fixtures at the Asian Games are being staged before the opening ceremony to accommodate a crowded schedule featuring more than 11,000 competitors, exceeding the Summer Olympics.
The Asian Games were first held in 1951 in New Delhi, India. This is the 20th edition with games last held in 2023 in Hangzhou, China, where about 12,000 athletes attended. Those games were delayed a year by the pandemic.
The Asian Games don’t have quite the star power of the Olympics. But there are big names and plenty of local stars from the 45 countries and regions entered from Afghanistan to Yemen.
One name to look out for is Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi. As a 12-year-old at last year’s swimming World Championships in Singapore, Yu Zidi finished fourth in her three races — the 200 and 400 metre individual medley and the 200 butterfly. She’s 13 now and will turn 14 in October.
World records could fall with swimming taking centre stage during the first six days of competition.
