INCHEON, South Korea (AP) — South Korea produced back-to-back extra-time wins over China and Hong Kong to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in the men’s rugby sevens competition.
The South Koreans had group wins over Afghanistan and Sri Lanka before beating Malaysia 32-7 in the quarterfinals on Sunday and holding off China 12-7 in the semifinals.
With the winner of the Asian qualifying tournament guaranteed a spot at Tokyo, South Korea scored in extra time to beat Hong Kong 12-7 in the deciding match.
It means Hong Kong and China go into a last-ditch repechage tournament in France to vye for the last of 12 places in the men’s tournament at the 2020 Olympics.
South Korea joins Fiji, which won the gold medal when rugby sevens made its Olympic debut at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Argentina, Canada, Britain, Kenya, Australia and host Japan in the men’s tournament in Tokyo. (AP)