“I want to play until the end, we haven’t given up yet.”
Seoul SK’s Oh Jae-hyun suffered a left ankle injury in the second round of the 2023-24 Korean Basketball Association quarterfinals playoffs against Busan KCC at Jamsil Student Gymnasium on March 6. In the regular season, he would have needed three or four weeks off. But Oh headed to Busan.
In Game 2, Oh injured his left ankle in the third and fourth quarters. In the second one, it didn’t sound good and he was unable to play the rest of the way.
After a checkup on July 7, Oh was diagnosed with a complete tear of his anterior cruciate ligament. The other ligament was also reportedly in poor condition.
According to the original plan, Oh would not be able to travel with the team to Busan. In fact, on July 7, various media outlets reported that he would not be traveling to Busan. At this point, Oh convinced the coaching staff. He wanted to give it his all.
In an interview with MK Sports, Oh said, “I told them that I really want to go to Busan. If I could play even a little bit…, I wanted to help even a little bit. I didn’t want to end the season like this, so I came down with them,” Oh said.
“I have pain, but it’s not serious. I haven’t really moved much, so we’ll see how it is tomorrow and decide for sure. It would be embarrassing to run a little bit and then come out injured again, so I’ll think about it carefully. I’ll tell you when I’m sure that I can do it,” he added.
Oh suffered a sprained ankle after colliding with Kim Sun-hyung on a rebound in the third quarter. He felt pain but continued to play without being substituted. However, in the fourth quarter, after being pushed by Choi Joon-yong, he stepped on Ahn Young-joon’s foot, causing a major impact on the injury.
Oh said, “It wasn’t too bad the first time it happened. When (Heo) Ungi went to the bench, I said I would rest for a while and then go in. “I got treated in the locker room and came back out and I thought I was fine, but I think it was already serious,” he said, “I couldn’t push. When I was down in the second game, I wasn’t in a position to get hurt that badly, but I think it was easy 토토 because I didn’t have the strength. I had already exhausted myself in the first half. Still, I played with the mindset that defeat is the end, and I wanted to win, but it didn’t work out,” he smiled bitterly.
Realistically, it’s not easy for Oh to play in Game 3. For the sake of his life, he should rest and heal from now on. But no one can break his will, and he loves this season so much. He couldn’t let the season that made him one of the best defenders in the KBL come to an end.
“I only had an ultrasound rather than a detailed examination. It might be better not to know (laughs). Of course, I was told that it was a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. Everyone is very worried, but I don’t think I’ll regret doing it until the end. “I don’t know if there was a time when I felt like, ‘Oh no, I can’t do this,’ but not now,” he said, “I don’t want to end with an injury. The mood in the team is still good and we haven’t given up. We just need to get the third game and we can bring the momentum. That’s what everyone is thinking. Personally, I don’t have any anxiety about my body, but I want to play until the end.”
Meanwhile, SK will play the third game against KCC at Busan Sajik Gymnasium on the 8th. If they lose, the season is over. On the other hand, a victory will mark the beginning of a comeback.