The Korean national sevens rugby team has won both of its group matches at the Hangzhou Asian Games to advance to the quarterfinals as the top seed.
The team, led by head coach Lee Myung-geun, defeated Chinese Taipei 22-0 in Pool B on Thursday afternoon at the Changchen Campus Stadium of Hangzhou Normal University in Zhejiang Province, China.
They followed that up with a 22-7 win over the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) team in their second Group B match.
With wins over both Chinese Taipei and the OCA, who were drawn together in Pool B, the team topped the pool and qualified for the quarterfinals.
Sri Lanka, which was suspended by World Rugby (WR), the sport’s governing body, borrowed the OCA’s name for the tournament as it was unable to use its own name.
They will face Malaysia in the quarterfinals. The two teams will face off at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sept. 25.
Hong Kong, the favorite to win the tournament, also cruised to a 40-7 win over Malaysia and a 43-5 win over the Philippines in Pool A’s first two games.
Another powerhouse, Japan, demolished Thailand 65-0 in Pool C’s first game. They followed that up with a 41-7 win over Singapore in the second round.
Lee and his team will try to win their first gold medal in 21 years since the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
After winning a silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Korea’s rugby team has only managed bronze in the last three editions of the tournament. 안전놀이터