In February, the South Korean national team's "table tennis incident" in the Asian Cup caused an uproar, and it was reported that the day before the top 4 against Jordan, Lee Gang-in went to play table tennis after dinner early, and clashed with captain Son Heung-min and other older players, in the process, Son Heung-min dislocated his finger, and the South Korean team was out of the top 4 the next day.
Klinsmann, the national team coach, has been dismissed, and he believes that the team's poor performance in the Asian Cup is due to the feud between Sun and Lee. After the incident, Li Gangren was constantly criticized and even lost his endorsement contract, like a national sinner, Sun Xingmin pleaded for this junior with a long article on his social account on Wednesday (21st) morning.
There have been many versions of the "Ping Pong Incident", one of which even described Li Gangren punching Sun Xingmin in the face, although Li Gangren later denied it through his lawyer, but he apologized for the incident and was not forgiven by the public, and the criticism on social ** was endless, and even the artists joined the battle group, and some Korean brands for which he served as spokespersons even immediately withdrew their advertisements and announced that they would not renew their contracts with him.
When things seem to be unfinished, there is a big turn. Son Heung-min posted a photo with Li Gangren smiling and holding each other's arms on his social account on Wednesday morning, and it seems that he has met: "Hello everyone, I'm Son Heung-min. Today I want to talk about something a little heavy and difficult. Gangin has sincerely reflected on his actions and apologized to all the national team players, including me. ”
I made a lot of mistakes and didn't perform well when I was younger, but I think I'm where I am today because I got good advice and guidance from my great seniors. In order to prevent Gangin from committing another wrong act, all of our players, as seniors and captains of the national team, will take special care of Gangin by his side so that he can grow into a better person and player. He continued.
Son Heung-min said that he had mishandled the incident this time, but also said, "It is one of the responsibilities of the captain to do such an unpleasant thing for the sake of the team", so even if he faces the same situation again, he will act for the team, "but in the future, I will try to lead the team in a more sensible way." ”
He also pleaded with everyone to forgive Lee, saying that the youngster was going through a difficult period after the incident, and Son Heung-min also apologized to everyone for causing the commotion.
On the other hand, about 2 hours before Son Xingmin's post, Li Gangren also posted a long post on his personal social account, indicating that he had personally visited Son Xingmin in London, talked in depth, and apologized to the public: "I think it is important to visit Son Xingmin in person and sincerely apologize, through a long conversation, I understand the burden of being a captain, and I also have time to reflect on myself." Through this article, I would like to thank Son Heung-min again for welcoming and welcoming me when I traveled to London. ”
Lee Kong-in admits that the origin of the problem is that he rationally knows how important the Asian Cup is, but he does not fully understand it from the emotional aspect, and his own behavior is not expressed, "Especially for the sincere advice given by the captain Son Heung-min, the seniors and the captain, I should listen to them to maintain the unity of the team." That day, I did something at dinner that I should never have done even in retrospect. I deeply regret it. He added that he had apologized to every senior and teammate in the national team and promised to treat them with a more decent attitude and courtesy in the future.
In addition, the incident also involved several other players who had a friendly relationship with Li Gangren, including Zheng Youying, Wu Xianhua, and Xue Yingyou, so the four were called "Ping Pong Four" and "Ping Pong Squad", and their social accounts were also full of critical comments. Lee said in the article that there are other players who have been criticized for their actions, "I think I should also suffer these criticisms against them. ”
The two parties involved in this "ping pong incident" publicly reconciled, and Sun Xingmin came forward to intercede for Li Gangren, netizens praised Sun Xingmin as a role model for the captain; Li Gangren's post is no longer as scolding as before, many people praised him for knowing his mistakes and sincerely apologizing, and Japanese star Kenei Kubo and former South Korea team captain Ji Chengyong also left messages of support.