Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min finished his three-week military training on Friday in South Korea at the top of his class after recording perfect scores in target shooting.
The South Korea international entered the Marine Corps base in the southern island of Jeju on April 20, after deciding to complete his basic military training requirement with the Premier League suspended from mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The forward was one of five out of 157 trainees to receive an award at the graduation ceremony, not open to the public though around 50 of the player's fans waited outside. According to officials, Son was the top performer overall.
"He received the 'Pilsung' [certain victory] prize which is one of five types of awards for best performers," a Marine Corps officer was quoted saying by Yonhap News Agency.
Son excelled in shooting, hitting the target 10 out of 10 times, and also trained in bayonet, individual battle skills as well as chemical and biological.
"All the courses were judged in a fair and strict manner, and his military training officers have said he went through the training faithfully," the officer added.
Son earned exemption from Korea's mandatory military service of around two years by winning a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games that were held in Indonesia. The completion of this basic training does not mean that his duties are over, however. The 27-year-old must complete 544 hours of community service by early 2023.