The South Korean rugby sevens team’s bid for its first Asian Games gold medal in 21 years was thwarted on the threshold of victory. The sevens team, led by head coach Lee Myung-geun, lost 7-14 to Hong Kong in the final of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Saturday at the Changchen Campus Stadium of Hangzhou Normal University in Zhejiang province, China, to settle for a silver medal. It has been 17 years since South Korean rugby won a silver medal at an Asian Games since Doha 2006.The last time the team won an Asian Games title was in Busan in 2002.Lee, who was a player at the time, named a starting lineup that featured veterans such as Kim Chan-joo (Korea University), Lee Jin-kyu, Jung Yeon-sik (Hyundai Globis), Kim Nam-wook, Jang Yong-heung, Kim Hyun-soo, and Hwang In-jae (KEPCO).However, it was Hong Kong who took the initiative early on. After conceding a try and a conversion seven minutes into the first half, the team was down 7-0 at the start of the second half, with Liam Doherty scoring a try (5 points) and Russell Webb a conversion (2 points).The team bounced back immediately. Less than three minutes into the second half, ace Jang Yong-heung scored a try and Kim Eui-tae (Korean Armed Forces Athletic Corps) kicked a pinpoint conversion to bring the Koreans within seven points .The rest of the way, however, they were unable to add any more points, settling for the silver medal .This was South Korea’s first gold medal in 21 years .After winning the silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, where they came from behind to beat Japan in the final, the Koreans have been unable to get over the hump in the last three editions of the tournament .After winning both of their Group B games against Chinese Taipei and the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) on Sept. 24, the team beat Malaysia in the quarterfinals on Sept. 25 and China in the semifinals on Sept. 26 to reach the final. Riding high on the momentum of their four-game winning streak, they were hoping to upset Hong Kong, who were considered to be a ‘one-up’ team, but had 바카라사이트 to settle for the silver medal.