12 Years Later, Ha Returns to Court

“It is the first time that I have learned what it is like being nervous. I will do better in the future,” said Ha Eun-joo, the tallest female center (202cm) in Korean basketball after playing her first professional match in Korea.

Ha, who was naturalized in Japan, but recovered her Korean citizenship at the end of last year, appeared Saturday in a match held in Cheonan as part of the Korean Women’s Professional Basketball League. She was wearing a Shinhan Bank uniform that day to play against Kukmin Bank.

It was her first basketball match in Korea in 12 years since she was a sixth grader in 1995. She did not play basketball due to injury when she was in middle school and immigrated to Japan when she was a ninth grader.

Ha, who appeared in front of the audience after a long wait, was not in her best physical condition. Although she had felt hardly anxious before big events, she was so anxious about the game that she caught a bad cold. She tossed and turned in bed the entire night and had to appear in the match after getting an injection of Ringer’s solution.

Ha, who joined the game in the second quarter as a replacement, scored six points and had four rebounds during her 12 minute, 18 second performance. Although she played for short due to her bad physical condition, she dominated rebounding in the third quarter, thanks to her height. Because Kukmin Bank played a 2-3 zone defense to block Ha and put more effort in rebounding, it resulted in loopholes outside. Thanks to the excellent rebounding of Ha Eun-joo, Jung Sung-min (33 points), and Mack Williams (20 points), Shinahan Bank won the game, 84-71.

“It is too early to jump to a conclusion considering that she played only for several minutes. But I can say that her height was quite threatening (to the opposing team),” said Kim Dong-wook, the managing director of the Women`s Korean Basketball League.

“I believe she will get better gradually and be able to play her part in the second half of the league,” said Lee Young-joo, the coach of Shinhan Bank.

kjs0123@donga.com