South Korean men's hockey players entered their first Olympic match against the Czech Republic on Thursday with a chip on their shoulders, perhaps the only group of people inside Gangneung Hockey Centre who believed South Korea could win this game.

On paper, this shouldn't have been as close as it turned out to be: a 2-1 win for the Czech Republic, who had to rally after giving up the first goal in the opening period. South Korea came in ranked 21st in the world, only playing in the Olympics as the host nation, while the Czechs were at sixth place.

South Korean men's hockey players entered their first Olympic match against the Czech Republic on Thursday with a chip on their shoulders, perhaps the only group of people inside Gangneung Hockey Centre who believed South Korea could win this game.On paper, this shouldn't have been as close as it turned out to be: a 2-1 win for the Czech Republic, who had to rally after giving up the first goal in the opening period. South Korea came in ranked 21st in the world, only playing in the Olympics as the host nation, while the Czechs were at sixth place.The Czechs outshot South Korea 40-18, but the margin does an injustice to how hard the South Koreans battled. South Korea is the smallest and the lightest team in Group A, but its players refused to be simply pushed around by the Czechs, the tallest and heaviest side in the same group.

The Czechs outshot South Korea 40-18, but the margin does an injustice to how hard the South Koreans battled. South Korea is the smallest and the lightest team in Group A, but its players refused to be simply pushed around by the Czechs, the tallest and heaviest side in the same group.

South Korean men's hockey players entered their first Olympic match against the Czech Republic on Thursday with a chip on their shoulders, perhaps the only group of people inside Gangneung Hockey Centre who believed South Korea could win this game.

On paper, this shouldn't have been as close as it turned out to be: a 2-1 win for the Czech Republic, who had to rally after giving up the first goal in the opening period. South Korea came in ranked 21st in the world, only playing in the Olympics as the host nation, while the Czechs were at sixth place.

The Czechs outshot South Korea 40-18, but the margin does an injustice to how hard the South Koreans battled. South Korea is the smallest and the lightest team in Group A, but its players refused to be simply pushed around by the Czechs, the tallest and heaviest side in the same group.

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