Shin Jin-seo, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance face off against Xu Hao-hong, a ‘bad performance’ at the Asian Games, in the round of 16

Shin Jin-seo, 9th dan, will face off against 9th dan Xu Haohong, a member of the Asian Games’ ‘Bad Play’, in a single-leg match. Shin Jin-seo advanced to the round of 16 by defeating China’s 9th dan Wang Shin Jin-seo competed with Taiwan’s Xu Hao-hong to advance to the quarterfinals in the round of 16 draw held after the match. The match between the two will be held on the 19th. Xu Haohong defeated Korea’s Ahn Jung-gi, 7th dan, and joined the round of 16. He is a powerhouse who lost to Shin Jin-seo in the final of the individual Go match at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held last month. Shin Jin-seo, who was aiming to win two gold medals in the individual and team events at the Asian Games but was defeated, was blocked by Xu Hao-hong and had to be content with just one gold medal. The match between the two, meeting again after a month, is expected to be a fierce battle. Shin Min-jun, 9th Dan, also won by a hundred and a half in 297 moves with a last-minute upset in the brotherly match against Lee Chang-ho, 9th Dan. On the 19th, Shin Min-jun will face China’s No. 1 ranking, Gu Zihao, 9th dan, for a ticket to the quarterfinals. On this day, 9th dan Byeon Sang-il was defeated by Gu Zihao, while Hong Seong-ji, 9th dan Kim Jeong-hyun, An Seong-jun, and 7th dan Kang Woo-hyuk each lost to China’s 9th dan Ding Hao, Xu Jiayang, Tan Xiao, and Lianxiao.

Taiwan’s Xu Haohong, 9th dan. Provided by Korea Times

Korea had eight players advance to the round of 16, including 9th dan Park Jung-hwan, Kim Myung-hwan, Kang Dong-yoon, Han Woong-gyu, 4th dan Kim Nuri, and Kim Seung-jin, who won in the round of 32 held the previous day. In China, seven players passed the round of 32, and Taiwan’s only participant, Xu Haohong, also sailed through. Four Japanese knights and one European Union representative who participated as a wild card were eliminated. The prize money for the winner of the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance World Baduk Masters is 300 million won, and the prize money for the runner-up is 100 million won. The time limit is 5 1-minute countdowns for each 2 hours. Senior Reporter Kim Chang-geum kimck@hani.co.kr