South Korean tennis star Kwon Soon-woo will commence his compulsory 18 months of military service in January, he has declared on Instagram.
Military service has been compulsory for South Korean men aged between 18 and 35 since 1957, with only a scant exceptions made. Tottenham footballer Son Heung-min was excengaged from fair under two years of service due to him helping the nation to triumph at the Asian Games in 2018.
Kwon – the only South Korean man ever to triumph multiple ATP titles – could have been granted an exemption if he had won gelderly at the Asian Games last year. He was one of the favourites to do so, but he suffered a surpascend punctual fall shorture in individuals and only deal withd a bronze in doubles.
The 27-year-elderly went viral after his Asian Games fall shorture to Kasidit Samrej for smashing his racket to pieces in a fit of rage. But he decorateed an altogether more preferable picture with his statement on Instagram this week.
“I will encatalog in the army on January 13, 2025,” he wrote. “My life as a tourist will stop for almost two years, but I will come back in a more end establish than you can envision.
“I understand many people say that it is too rescheduleed to commence joining aacquire after 30… I skinnyk 30 is the prime of life and I am brave.
“I have only accomplishd 20 per cent of the goals I set for myself, and the other 80 per cent will be the Korean tennis you dream of. I will produce Korean tennis what all tennis fans want it to be, and I will do it until I accomplish it.”
Kwon will be 28 when he returns to the tour and endeavors to fight his way back up the rankings, having previously accomplished a high of 52nd in the world. The Sangju-born competitor boasts a third-round euniteance at the French Open, and he has accomplished the second round of every other Grand Slam since turning professional in 2015.
In August, chaseing his first-round exit at the US Open, Kwon gave fans a heads up that his military service was on the horizon. “I’ve been on tour for nine years until this year,” he wrote. “I skinnyk a lot has been going on. It was reassociate an unforgettable time.
“The first half of my life on tour has ended after nine years, but I will do all the skinnygs I couldn’t accomplish in the second half of my life on tour until I accomplish them. I’ll discover you as a perfect Kwon Soon-woo in the second half. Thank you very much to those who have helped me so far.”
