Seongchan Hong of South Korea in action at the recently-held Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger.
DH Photo/ Krishnakumar PS
Bengaluru: If Seongchan Hong was asked to dedicate a song to himself, he would probably choose If today was your last day’ by Nickelback, a popular Canadian rock band which came together in mid 90s.
The lyrics of the single from the album Dark Horse speaks about living every moment to the fullest and the need to be grateful for all things one has in the present.
The 26-year-old South Korean would relate to the essence of the message more than most players on the tour, for his tennis career may abruptly come to a halt at the end of the 2024 season.
“I go to the army this year,” said Hong, looking at the floor to try and hide the disappointment in his eyes from being noticed.
“I can't play for a year and a half because of that. Maybe this will be my last year touring. That’s why I want to focus harder and enjoy myself out there on the court as much as I can,” noted the runner-up of the Bengaluru Open this year at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association.
A need to reach out takes over organically among the few listening to Hong instead of the usual ‘How was the match, What went right or wrong' questions. Is there no way to be exempted, was the next query.
“Yeah. There was one. But I lost in the semifinal to Ramkumar (Ramanathan) and his partner (Saketh Myneni) in the Asian Games. That loss made me really sad. Yes, so this was kind of a revenge (Hong beat Ramkumar in the quarterfinal this week here). But, no exemption for this win (laughs).”
For South Korean male athletes, winning an Asian Games or Olympic gold medal is their ticket out of the mandatory 18-month military service before turning 28. Having missed his only chance to avoid the military stint, the current World No. 221 and the 2015 junior Australian Open runner-up said he has accepted things the way they are and wants to make the best use of the few months left on tour before entering the gates of the army training centre.
“Now I'm trying to play at the Roland Garros qualifying round. I played last year in the French Open but lost in the first qualifier match because I was nervous. I want to correct that. That and going to the other Grand Slams are the goals,” shared Hong, who had another runner-up finish at the Bangkok Open (ATP Challenger) in January.
Though Hong will be allowed to play tennis and enter ITF and ATP Challenger events in South Korea, he is not sure of finding any free time in the packed training schedule.
“The army has a tennis team. I will be playing there but it is going to be different. Not playing on tour means the ranking will also take a dip.
“And then when I come back on the tour, I will be around 29-30 years of age. It will be tough for me physically and mentally. But I will try to come back.”
It's, however, not the end of the road. A long pit-stop, Hong hopes, could just be the antidote for realising dreams he hasn't yet.