Will Shin And Ke Jie duel at the Asian Games?
Once a hot topic, Shen Zhenchen-Ke Jie's juban chess has sunk to the bottom. Because the Chinese side said: "Now is the time to concentrate on participating in the Asian Games." As a result, there will be no more discussions until at least until the Hangzhou Asian Games in September.
As South Korea's no. 1 Shin Jin-chan rises and China's no. 1 Ko Jie gradually declines, the showdown between Self-Esteem between China and South Korea becomes more acute. China, in particular, is determined to win the Asian Games it hosts. Because the Chinese Go, which has been the strongest in the world for nearly 10 years, has been seriously injured by Shen Zhenchen alone.
At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, There are 3 events in Go: men's team, women's team, and men's individual. At the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, there were three events: men's and women's teams and mixed doubles. The reason why the mixed doubles project has become a man may be because of the trust in Ke Jie. But after the project was determined, Shin Zhenchen caught up with Ke Jie, which made the Chinese side even more worried. In this case, the Chinese side boldly launched a comprehensive selection competition that did not let anyone become a seeded player.
Ke Jie in the Asian Games China team selection
As a result, Fan Tingyu ranked first with 8 wins and 1 loss, Ke Jie and Yang Dingxin tied for second place with 6 wins and 3 losses, Gu Zihao and Li Xuanhao followed with 5 wins and 4 losses, Feng Jiaxi (4 wins and 5 losses) hitched the last train, and the Chinese men's team identified 6 players. (Men's team consists of 5 people)
Although Ke Jie, who ranked first in China, defeated Fan Tingyu, he lost to Gu Zihao, Xie Ke and Yang Dingxin. Xie Ke, who reached the final of the Ying Cup and is about to fight a decisive battle with Shin Jin-chan, was still eliminated after defeating Ke Jie. Ding Hao, who was identified as the "number one target of vigilance" by South Korean national team coach Mu Jinshuo and ranked second in China's ranking score, was knocked out with a miserable record of 1 win and 8 losses, which is surprising. It is also surprising that Mi Yuting, who recently performed well in China's fourth place in the ranking score, was eliminated. From China's standpoint, the absence of Ding Hao and Mi Yuting may be heart-wrenching.
The selection site of the Asian Games in South Korea
South Korea, for its part, opted for a safe selection method. Shin Jin-hyun and Park Young-hwan, ranked No. 1 and No. 2, became seeded players. At the Korea National Team Selection Tournament, Bian Sang-yi (ranked 3rd in South Korea) and kim Myung-hoon , who has recently grown rapidly (ranked 8th in South Korea), were selected, so that the Asian Games lineup of the Korean men's team has been determined by 4 people, and the remaining 2 people will be decided through the all-round selection.
The Asian Games men's individual event can only send 2 players from each country. Shin Jin-hyun of the Korean team has been determined, and the remaining 1 person will be decided by the selection match within the player team. China has not yet determined, saying it is up to the coaching staff to decide. In any case, it is very likely that Fan Tingyu, Ke Jie and Yang Dingxin, who are in the top 3 of the selection competition, will be selected. If Ke Jie plays in the individual competition and can successfully achieve the final of Shen Zhenchen vs Ke Jie, it will become a historic game that gathers the attention of Go fans around the world.
Lee Se-eun (left) and Park Tinghuan, who won gold at the Go Mixed Doubles at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou
The Asian Games schedule is very tight. After 2 individual matches per day for 5 days, there is no day off and the team matches are played directly for 5 days. If Shin jin-chan reaches the final of the individual competition, he will play 20 games in 10 days, and "physical strength" is becoming the main variable. The Asian Games take 1 hour per side and 30 seconds 5 times. Although the basic time of 1 hour is not short, but 30 seconds to read seconds is much shorter than 1 minute to read seconds, even if the AI judgment win rate of 90% will often appear to flip, 30 seconds of "speed" also becomes a variable.
At the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, the South Korean team unexpectedly won 3 gold medals. At that time, Lee Chang-ho and Lee Sedol were in the war, and the 19-year-old Park Tinghuan was exempted from military service. At the same time, Park Tinghuan also partnered with Li Se'e to win the mixed doubles championship and became the Asian Games double champion.
The Guangzhou Asian Games selected Go as an official competition, which is an epoch-making event in the history of Go. At this point, Go ended various controversies and officially became a sport. But at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, the South Korean organizing committee deleted the Go program. Although Cho Hyun Hyun Ku-dan and others came forward to demonstrate, it did not help. Today, although the Go project has been revived with the help of China after 12 years, no one knows what will happen next time.
In addition, Choi Jung and Oh Yoo Jin, who ranked 1st and 2nd in the Korean women's team, became seeded players, and in the national team selection competition, Kim Chae-young, who ranked 3rd, successfully passed the pass. The remaining 1 person will be selected in the all-round selection.
(Saury compiled from a column by Park Ji-moon, a reporter for South Korea's JoongAng Daily)