BANDUNG, Indonesia -- In his last start a week ago Son Heung-min helped Tottenham to a win in the Premier League. In his last start in a South Korea jersey Son scored late in a World Cup upset group stage win over 2014 champion Germany in June.
He was a long way from there on Friday, when his belated start to the Asian Games ended in a 2-1 loss to Malaysia that left him feeling ashamed in front of 4,125 fans on the outskirts of Bandung, the capital of Indonesia's West Java province.
After getting permission from Tottenham to pursue a gold medal that would earn him an exemption from national military service, Son finally got on the field in the 57th minute of South Korea's second group game.