Tennis star Kwon Soon-woo destroys racket and refuses to shake opponent’s hand

South Korean tennis star Kwon Soon-woo suffered a bizarre on-court meltdown following his defeat at the Asian Games to Thailand’s Samrej Kasidit. The pair faced off in the second round of the tournament and it ended on sour terms.

Kwon, the World No. 112, was defeated by his 22-year-old opponent, who is ranked more than 500 places lower than him, in three sets. The match, taking place in Hangzhou, China, saw Kasidit take the first set 6-3 before the South Korean managed to claw a set back by winning the second 7-5. However Kwon lost the final set 6-4 to end his hopes of claiming the gold medal.

Despite being outplayed by his opponent, Kwon failed to accept the defeat with any grace. Immediately after losing the final point, with his service return hitting the net, the Sangju-born player reacted with anger.

The two-time ATP Tour champion smashed his racket to the ground in frustration. After hitting the court numerous times he returned to his chair and continued to take his frustration out on his racket.

Meanwhile, Kasidit watched on in disbelief and shook the umpire’s hand. The 22-year-old, who has two Southeast Asian Games gold medals, attempted to shake his opponent’s hand but was ignored.

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Realising that Kwon was in no mood to talk, Kasidit went across court to receive some well-deserved gratitude from the spectators. His win came off the back of a dominanting straight sets victory over Kuwait’s Essa Qabazard.

Sadly Kasidit’s run at this year’s tournament came to an end in his next match. Kasidit followed up his win over Kwon with a 6-4, 6-2 straight sets defeat to Uzbekistan’s Khumoyun Sultanov in the round of 16.

Kwon, however, is still in the tournament having reached the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles with his partner Seong Chan Hong. The pair face Japan’s Kaito Uesugi and Shinji Hazawa for a place in the semifinals.

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