Welcome back Jung Sunmin, now as a coach!

KUALA LUMPUR (Mageshwaran's AsiaScope) - Jung Sunmin is back in the Korean national team! In a career spanning more than one and half decades in her role as a player, the 'Michael Jordan of Korean women's basketball', hated with all her heart to be benched.

But now with life having come full circle, the 37-year-old will find herself only too happy to be on the bench as an assistant coach of the team at the 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women that tips off in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday (27 October-3 November).

The Korean women's team faces tremendous pressure to produce results in Bangkok for a two-fold reason.

On the one hand, with a team that is going through transitional pangs, the presence and performance of the Korean women at their previous international outing  - the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women in Ankara, Turkey - was far from satisfactory.

On the other hand is the recent euphoric success achieved by their male counterparts, who won the bronze medal at the 27th FIBA Asia Championship in Manila, Philippines in August. The result saw them qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain (30 August-14 September 2014), thus ending a 17-year absence from basketball's top event.

Korean women's record at the FIBA Asia Championship for Women is amazing and enviable with the team having returned with a medal in each of the 25 events - the medal being gold on a dozen occasions and silver on 11 others - so far. But a medal alone will not satisfy the growing expectations of the Korean fans especially in the backdrop of the success of the men's teams.

This is where Jung Sunmin's presence on the bench adds strength.

Seen in a tactical perspective, the stalwart is expected to think like a player having been a part of a champion team on foreign soil not very long ago - the Korean played a pivotal role in Shanxi's maiden triumph in the WCBA in March this year. But this 'player-like' attitude will be exactly what the Korean top brass expect to rub off on those who actually play.

As a player, Jung Sunmin's role in the Korean team always went beyond the points, rebounds and assists per game mode of assessment. Not that she ever lagged behind in the stats, but her presence was a huge morale booster always.

Beon Yeonha, a longtime teammate once had this to say about Jung Sunmin (at the 23rd FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Chennai, India in 2009): "She has this uncanny ability to bring the best out of each player. She has a knack of saying many things without actually saying anything. Of course she leads by example, but we always feel strong when she is in the locker room."

This is the influence Korea will hope for from Jung Sunmin's presence.

How much influence Jung Sunmin will have on the Korean team at the 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women will be known by the time we meet again next week!

So long…

S Mageshwaran

FIBA Asia

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