Once 'humiliated', South Korea's Park set for third World Cup

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Park Eun-seon was «humiliated» a decade ago by unfounded claims about her sex but has put the episode behind her to stand on the cusp of a third Women's World Cup.

And now the 36-year-old South Korean forward — who played her first WorldCup 20 years ago — told AFP that she has one more ambition in what will be her farewell to the tournament.

«I've never scored a goal at the World Cup and I'm training hard with the aim of scoring a goal,» Park said ahead of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand starting on Thursday.

«As I always say, I'm really working hard now thinking this is my last World Cup.»

Park's long career has been marked by exceptional highs but also real lows.

Considered a child prodigy, she joined South Korea's squad when she was a teenager and played in the 2003 World Cup.

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By the time she was 19 she had scored 11 goals for her country.

There was domestic success too. In 2013 she was top scorer in the league with 19 goals, leading her team Seoul City Hall to second place.

But her goals prompted six rival coaches to threaten a league boycott and demand a gender test.

The claim was shut down when South Korea's Human Rights Commission intervened, saying that the coaches' actions amounted to sexual harassment.

«What happened is in the past and I don't remember much of it now,» Park says, having described it at the time as «humiliating».

She said in 2013 that she had undergone several eligibility tests in the past.

«I scored a lot (in 2013) because I was given a lot of chances as my teammates were exceptionally good at the time,» she says now of the scrutiny.

«There are