Tags:
Journalism of Courage
It would be fair to say that Lee Hwayeon has done everything one man could possibly do to promote cricket in South Korea. In many ways,he epitomises the game in the land. In the South Korean national team,Lee is captain and coach. And in the South Korean cricket board,the Korea Cricket Association,he is secretary general and an executive director. Last week,he arrived with his side to see how the game is played and run in this part of the world.
With cricket once again a part of the 2014 Asian Games,to be held in Incheon,South Korea,the hosts are leaving no stone unturned in preparing their national cricket side for the event. And Lee realises that a decent show by his side will result in free promotion of this alien sport in their land. So when Lee was offered an invitation from a private export house to train in Chandigarh,he and his 12 other teammates had no hesitations in packing their bags and boarding the India-bound flight.
So how on earth did Lee first get introduced to this game in a country that surely is even remotely connected with the game? And also,how did he manage to find enough members and resources to put a team together? 8220;Cricket was introduced to Korean schools and colleges in the early 2000s. I got hooked to it during my university days,when a few of us signed up for it and decided to practice this new game in baseball parks. Now,we have a domestic league which consists of 12 clubs. We sure have come a long way,8221; he says.
But do people take it seriously in a football-mad country? 8220;It isn8217;t even as popular as baseball,but it sure is gathering momentum. The government has planned to build our first cricket stadium.8221;
South Korea is in fact an affiliate member of the ICC since 2011. Lee8217;s side has also received a decent amount of exposure,having played in a few Division Two tournaments in Samoa.
8220;The government back home recognised cricket a couple of years ago and they are helping us in setting up the infrastructure. If China can do it,so can South Korea,8221; he says. 8220;We saw how well China had taken to the sport during the last Asian Games in their backyard,Guangzhou. So we too are practicing hard to win a medal.8221;
On this trip,Team South Korea have a few practice games lined up against local clubs and academies footage of which will be recorded by their video analyst Na Hyun Tae and studied very carefully back in Seoul. But most importantly,Lee and his boys have two main items on their agenda. One is to buy proper cricket equipment and kits to take back home and the second must-do in their check-list is to watch Sachin Tendulkar in action. 8220;By just coming here to India,we had achieved something. We are after all in the same land as the man we have come to worship.8221;
