How nearly every Korean team missed the cut for the Paris Olympics

Korea has qualified a single team to the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics across all team sport competitions — women’s handball — after a series of narrow misses and a few major upsets. Here's how Korea fumbled the qualifiers.

The Korean U-23 national team reacts after losing to Indonesia in a penalty shootout 11-10 during the quarterfinals of the U-23 AFC Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar on April 25. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

Korea has qualified just one team for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics across all team sport competitions — women’s handball.

It'll be the worst showing for Korea's national teams at the Olympics since 1960, when the country sent zero teams to the Games in Rome.

There will be no football, no volleyball, no basketball — neither five-a-side nor 3x3 — in either the men’s or the women’s tournaments following a slate of disappointing performances by the Korean delegation in qualifying rounds.

It was an Olympic run-up that saw a series of narrow misses and a few major upsets. The U-23 Korean men’s national football team crashed out of the U-23 AFC Asian Cup, a qualifier for the Olympics, after losing a penalty shootout to Indonesia 11-10 in the quarterfinals.

And the Korean women’s volleyball team, who finished fourth in London in 2012, fifth in Rio in 2016 and fourth in Tokyo in 2021 will not be in Paris to see through the journey to a spot on the podium.

Here’s how Korea failed to qualify for all but one team sport.

Football — 16 men’s teams, 12 women’s teams

Korea will not have a men’s football team at the Olympics for the first time since 1984, the last edition of the tournament before the Games came to Seoul in 1988

It was heartbreak for Korea’s U-23 men’s squad at the 2023 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar, where the top three teams earned tickets to the Olympics, when they lost a penalty shootout 11-10 to Indonesia, led by Korean manager Shin Tae-yong, in the quarterfinals.

Korea's Baek Jong-beom reacts during the quarterfinal against Indonesia at the U-23 AFC Asian Cup Qatar in Doha, Qatar on April 25. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

Korea competed with a stripped-down roster as the tournament did not fall during a FIFA international break, and European clubs kept their players in-continent as they vied for titles or fought to avoid relegation. They made it to the quarterfinal match against Indonesia unbeaten despite a shoddy defense, but the penalty shootout ended Korea's hopes for their 10th consecutive Olympics in the first knockout round.

Korea's Kang Seong- jin, behind, vies with Indonesia's Witan Sulaeman during the quarterfinal at the U-23 AFC Asian Cup Qatar in Doha, Qatar on April 25. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

The men’s side made it to the quarterfinals in both Tokyo and Rio and won bronze in London, their highest-ever finish, earning the entire squad military exemption.

The Korean women’s national team has never qualified for the Olympics since the women’s tournament was added in 1996 and will continue their streak of absence after failing to advance past the group stage of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament last November.

They drew with China 1-1 in their final match of the group stage, sending Group B winners North Korea through to a match against Japan, who won the ticket to the Olympic Games.

Volleyball — 12 men’s teams, 12 women’s teams

The Korean men’s national volleyball team has long played second fiddle to the more powerful women’s squad, who won bronze in 1976 in Canada and came close to seeing the podium again in 2012, 2016 and 2021.

But the women’s side have tumbled down the world rankings since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, sitting in No. 39 as of press time, and have had a dismal performance in the ongoing Volleyball Nations League, which was their last shot at qualifying for a place in Paris.

The Korean women's national volleyball team loses 3-0 to China in the first game of the first week of the Volleyball Nations League on May 15 in Brazil. [FIVB]

Despite reaching the bronze-medal round in Tokyo under captain Kim Yeon-koung, who retired from national duty after those Games, Korea barreled through both the 2022 and 2023 VNL without winning a single game and saw their worst performance at the Asian Volleyball Championship, failing to reach the semifinals for the first time ever last September.

That regional competition was a tune-up to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where the top two teams from each of the three pools earned automatic tickets to the Games. Korea finished in last place in Pool C, losing all seven games.

Korea's Kang So-hwi, left, is in action against the United States' Ogbogu Chiaka during a match in the qualifying tournament for the Paris Olympics in Lodz, Poland on Sept. 20, 2023. [EPA/YONHAP]

The women’s team fired then-head coach Cesar Hernandez Gonzalez last October following a disappointing finish at the Hangzhou Asian Games — crashing out of medal contention after losing to China 3-0 in a pool stage game.

Korea national team head coach Cesar Hernandez Gonzalez reacts during the women's volleyball match in the qualifying Paris 2024 Olympic Games tournament between Italy and Korea in Lodz, Poland on Sept. 16, 2023. [EPA/YONHAP]

A stellar performance at the 2024 VNL was the women’s team’s last, albeit extremely slim, chance of qualifying for Paris. The top five teams in the FIVB women’s world rankings after the preliminary round earn Olympic berths, with countries from continents without a team in the competition getting priority. But No. 6 Japan, No. 7 China and No. 13 Thailand sit well above Korea as of press time — with one more week of the preliminary round at the VNL to go — and none of them have so far qualified for Paris.

The men’s team hasn’t qualified for an Olympics since 2000. They did not play in an Olympic Qualifying Tournament and are not in the Volleyball Nations League.

Beach volleyball has been an Olympic discipline since 1996, but Korea has never competed in either the men’s or women’s tournaments.

Basketball — 12 men’s teams, 12 women’s teams

The Korean men’s national basketball team has never been an Olympic heavyweight, having won zero medals over six appearances at the tournament, last qualifying for the Games in 1996.

This time, Korea withdrew from a pre-qualifying tournament in Syria last August, giving up a shot at a spot in the men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the first week of July, out of which four teams will qualify for Paris.

The only other way to the Olympics for Korea would have been the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where the best-performing Asian team, 19th place Japan, earned a direct ticket to Paris. But Korea wasn’t at the World Cup; they forfeited their spot when they withdrew from the second round of the Asian qualifiers two days before a game against the Philippines after a Korean player tested positive for Covid-19.

The women’s team has had a better history at the Olympics, winning a silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics after earning their spot due to the boycott led by the Soviet Union. But the women’s team failed to earn a spot at their qualifying tournament after finishing in fifth place at the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asian Cup. The top four teams at that tournament advanced to the 16-team Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where 10 teams earned Olympic berths alongside already qualified France and the United States.

Korea's Park Ji-su, center, shoots during a FIBA Women's Asia Cup Group A match against China in Sydney, Australia on June 28, 2023. [EPA/YONHAP]

3x3 Basketball — 8 men’s teams, 8 women’s teams

Korea has never sent a men’s or women’s team to the Olympics for three-a-side basketball, which debuted as an Olympic sport in Tokyo. To have earned spots in Paris, either side needed to be one of the top three FIBA 3x3-ranked teams as of Nov. 1, 2023 (as of June 1, the men are No. 35 and the women are No. 81), win one of two “Universality” Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (Korean missed both) or place among the top three at the FIBA 3x3 qualifiers in May, which Korea missed, too.

Players compete during the men's 3x3 basketball semifinal between Korea and Chinese Taipei at the 19th Asian Games in Huzhou, China on Oct. 1, 2023. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

Handball — 12 men’s teams, 12 women’s teams

Hand it to women’s handball, the only squad Korea is sending to Paris across all team sport competitions. The two-time gold medalists qualified for the Olympics last August for the 11th consecutive time after winning the Asian Women’s Handball Qualification Tournament 2023 in Japan, beating Japan 25-24.

Korea's Kim Sun-hwa shoots in the final match of the Asian qualifiers for the Paris Olympics in Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 23, 2023. [YONHAP]

The men’s handball team, on the other hand, came in third at the Asian Men’s Handball Qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games last October, with the Paris ticket going to champions Japan and the spot at the IHF Men’s Handball Olympic Qualification Tournament awarded to second-place Bahrain.

Hockey — 12 men’s teams, 12 women’s teams

Both the Korean men’s and women’s hockey teams were at one point one spot away from securing a place in Paris.

The men’s team was on the brink of securing an Olympic berth for the first time since 2012 but lost 4-3 to Ireland in the third-place match at the 2024 Men’s FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in January.

Korea faces Belgium in the semifinals of the Olympic qualifiers in Valencia, Spain on Jan. 19. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The only other way Korea could have fielded a men’s team in Paris was if they won the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, where India took gold after beating Korea, who took bronze, in the semifinals.

The women’s team made it to the finals at the Asian Games but settled for silver after losing to China 2-0. Their journey at the Women’s Hockey Olympic Qualifiers ended in the preliminary round.

Korea's Cho Hye-jin, center, attacks during the women's hockey final against China at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on October 7, 2023. [YONHAP]

Rugby — 12 men’s teams, 12 women’s teams

The Korean national men’s rugby team failed to advance to the knockouts at the 2023 Asia Rugby Sevens Olympic Qualifying Tournament last November in Osaka, Japan, with the champions earning a spot in Paris. Japan won the affair, and second and third place Hong Kong and China earned spots in the Olympic repechage tournament set to take place later in June.

Korea did not send a women’s team to the Asia regional qualifiers, nor did a women’s team participate in the 2022–23 World Rugby Sevens Series, where the top four teams qualify for the Olympics. The men’s team finished their series in 21st place, earning a single point in Singapore.

Korea's Choi Seong-deok, right, is in action with Gavin Mullin of Ireland during a classification match at the Tokyo Olympics on July 27, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korea has fielded a men’s rugby team to the Olympics once, in 2020, the second time rugby sevens was an Olympic discipline. On that roster was Andre Jin, the first naturalized foreign player on the Korean national rugby team and now a bit of a celebrity in the world of sports-related reality TV.

Water Polo — 12 men’s teams, 10 women’s teams

The Korean men’s water polo team has seen the Olympic pool just once — automatically qualifying for the 1988 Seoul Olympics as the host. Korea has never qualified a women’s water polo team since the women’s discipline debuted in 2000.

Neither the men’s team nor the women’s team participated in either the 2023 or 2024 World Championships, which acted as qualifiers to the Olympics. The only other way for a team to have qualified was by winning the Hangzhou Asian Games, where the men’s team finished in 6th place and the women's team in 7th.

Korea's Kim Chan-soo is in action during a men's preliminary round Group A match against China at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 3, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The first preliminary round for the Korean women’s handball team, the only Korean team that qualified to the Paris Olympics, will be against Germany on July 25 — the day before the opening ceremony.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]