Nagoya, September 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The national anthem of North Korea was mistakenly played before South Korea’s men’s hockey match against Bangladesh at the 2026 Asian Games on Friday, leaving the South Korean players visibly baffled ahead of the game.
The mix-up occurred at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium, located nearly 30 km from Nagoya. Organisers later corrected the error and played South Korea’s national anthem after Bangladesh’s anthem.
According to Yonhap, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee lodged an official complaint with the organising committee, seeking an apology and assurances that such an incident would not be repeated.
The committee also said the anthem mix-up caused a delay to the match. The referee reportedly instructed the players to shake hands and prepare to begin even before the anthem ceremony had concluded.
South Korea went on to defeat Bangladesh 5-0 in their Pool A opener. Sim Jae-won, Lee Gang-san, Oh Se-yong, Bae Soung-min and Yang Ji-hun scored one goal each.
South Korea, bronze medallists at the 2023 Asian Games, controlled the match after making adjustments to the venue.
“We saw Bangladesh as a dark horse. We wanted to lock things down defensively in the first quarter,” South Korea head coach Min Tae-seok said, according to Yonhap.
“And then we wanted to be more aggressive in the second quarter. And our players scored those goals after making their adjustments to the venue,” he added.
Reacting to the anthem mix-up, Min said: “I can’t believe something like this happened at an international competition.”
South Korea and Bangladesh are in Pool A alongside defending champions India, hosts Japan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Japan won silver at the 2023 Asian Games.
South Korea’s women also began their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Chinese Taipei in their Pool A opener later in the day.
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