The organizers of the 2026 Asian Games made a major blunder before a field hockey match involving the South Korean national team.
Prior to the game, which ended with a score of 5-0 in favor of South Korea, the organizers mistakenly played the national anthem of North Korea instead of South Korea’s.
The competition is taking place in Japan, in Aichi Prefecture, at Nagoya, between September 19 and October 4, with 46 countries and over 10,000 athletes participating. The Asian Games organizers have apologized to the South Korean delegation for this terrible blunder.
Immediately after playing the anthem of Bangladesh, the organizers, realizing their mistake, promptly played the correct anthem of South Korea.
"It's a serious issue. When we protested, they said, 'We're sorry. It's not because we weren't prepared, but it was a mistake on the part of those responsible for playing the anthem.' But this is something that simply should never happen," said South Korea's coach, Min Tae-seok, as quoted by afp.com.
"During the men's hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh on September 18, an incorrect national anthem was played before the start of the game. Officials in charge of relations with national Olympic committees visited the South Korean delegation and apologized for this incident. We will also work to prevent any recurrence and want to express our deepest apologies to all those affected by this situation," a statement issued by the organizers said.
South Korea will return to the stadium on Tuesday, September 22, for a match against Indonesia.
D.A.