You Hyo-sik’s first love was football, before he switched over to hockey at the age of 14. Not that he had any choice. Being the son of Young Chae-You, who coached the Korean women’s hockey team to two successive Olympic silver medals in 1992 and 1996, he was destined for the sport.

“My father asked me to switch because he thought I would do well in hockey. He was the coach of my school team when I started playing,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. The move clearly paid dividends. Hyo-sik is now the main striker for Korea. He may have scored just three goals in the Asia Cup but contributed to almost half the goals scored by his team as they went on to win the title .

Having made his senior team debut in 2002, Sik owes a lot to his father. “My father said I would have to train much harder in the national squad but he also told me ‘Enjoy training and always smile while you are at it’ and I try to follow that,” he says.

In many ways, Hyo-sik is unusual for a Korean. He enjoys playing in the European league without missing home, has no problem conversing in English and talks well. “In my school, we’re taught English as a language for only a year but I love reading books and that is how I learnt,” he explains.

Importantly, after all these years in the top league, he still considers himself a student of the game. Hyo-sik has plied his trade all over the world, and has loved doing so. He feels each country or region adopts a different style and playing everywhere helps learn those styles. “I played in the PHL for Bangalore. It was a very good experience, very different from anything else,” says Hyo-sik, who currently plays in the Dutch league for TG Hague. “I signed the contract last year and joined them in March,” he says.

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