Andrezine Coquiyard (30, Korean name Kim Jin), a mixed race player of the Korean rugby team, broke into the enemy line with the whistle to start the match in the 11th and 12th place match against Japan in the 7-person rugby match at the Tokyo Olympics held at the Tokyo Stadium in Japan on the 28th local time .
The Korean players succeeded in advancing 5m ahead of the goal line by breaking down the Japanese central defense with fast passes and movements as per their strategy.
The last player to hold the ball was Coquiyard.
Coquiyard said, "I'm slow and I'm not very athletic, but I inherited a good body from my mother." "My role was to solve the problem with strength in front of the goal line. I thought I could break even a wall."
As expected, the Japanese players made a relentless tackle towards Coquiyard.
A Japanese player dashed towards Coquiyard's side and hit him.
But Coquiyard clenched his teeth and didn't miss the ball until the end.
He stretched out his body and finally hit the ball into the opponent's goal line.
It was the moment when Korea took the lead against Japan.
Korea, ranked 31st in the world, was not far behind Japan (10th in the world), the 4th team at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
It was a game that made you sweat until the end of the second half.
Unfortunately, they lost 19-31 (12-19 7-12), but they displayed a fierce performance and were equal.
At the center of it was Coquiyard, a mixed race player.
After the match, Koquiyard, who was interviewed with the Taegeukgi, said in fluent Korean, "I definitely wanted to win as much as Japan." "It hurts to lose, but it hurts especially to lose to Japan. I wanted to put the Taegeukgi on the Tokyo Stadium."
He said, "I know the history of Korea and Japan well. Everyone looks at my appearance and asks, 'Are you a mercenary?' but I am a typical Korean."
He continued, “I inherited my looks from my father, but my heart, emotions, and passions came from my mother,” he said.
Coquiyard is the son of Dongsoo Kim, a model and professor at Dongduk Women's University, who worked as a first-generation model.
Born to Professor Dongsoo Kim and an American father (Nowell Coquiyard), he learned rugby in Canada during high school.
In 2008, he boasted outstanding skills to play for the U.S. national team under the age of 17, but at the request of the Korea Rugby Association, he naturalized and joined the Korean team.
Coquiyard said, "My mother introduced Korea as a model abroad in the past. I feel responsible like my mother, and I want to introduce Korean rugby to the world."
He said, "Everyone thinks of me as a mercenary, but my athleticism and physical condition resemble my mother's," he said.
(Photo = Coquiyard social media capture, Yonhap News)