Korean Badminton Achieves Generational Change

Korean Badminton Achieves Generational Change, Confident of 3 Gold Medals, Most Ever

‘Hangzhou members’ who avenged their Asian Games no-medal defeat are on the move… Ahn Se-young is the vanguard.

Three consecutive ‘no-gold’ games since the 2008 Beijing Games… The most in one competition is 2.

Korean badminton, which succeeded in a generational change last year, is determined to reach its peak at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The national badminton team won two gold medals (women's singles and women's team), two silver medals (men's doubles and women's doubles), and three bronze medals (women's doubles, mixed doubles, and men's team) at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in October last year.

It was a refreshing moment of revenge for the humiliation of not winning a medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, when many of the older generation retired. 바카라사이트 추천

In particular, the women's badminton team defeated China for the first time in 29 years and won the team event for the second time ever, and Ahn Se-young also won the gold medal in the women's singles event, the first in 29 years since Bang Soo-hyun.

Nine months later, Korean badminton is trying to keep the flame alive and burn brightly on the Olympic stage.

Since Asian countries are strong in the sport, the difficulty level is not particularly high just because it is the Olympics.

It is an opportunity to solidify the status of a badminton powerhouse.

Just like in the Asian Games, Korea has not been able to show off its skills for a while in the Olympics.

At the 1992 Barcelona Games, which was adopted as an official Olympic event, men's doubles Park Joo-bong and Kim Moon-soo and women's doubles Hwang Hye-young and Jung So-young won the championships, and at the 1996 Atlanta Games, mixed doubles Kim Dong-moon and Gil Young-ah and women's singles Bang Soo-hyun won gold medals.

There were no gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Games, but at the 2004 Athens Games, men's doubles Kim Dong-moon and Ha Tae-kwon and mixed doubles Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung continued the gold streak at the 2008 Beijing Games.

However, from the 2012 London Games to the 2020 Tokyo Games, there was no gold medal in three consecutive games, with only one bronze medal each.

Unlike the Asian Games, there are no team events in the Olympics, so a total of five gold medals are at stake: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles.

The goal of the national team heading to Paris is the highest ever of three gold medals.

The 'Hangzhou members' who tasted medals nine months ago will be the same.

The only difference is that the number of players in the men's singles and doubles, which failed to secure two tickets, has been reduced by one.

Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), who won two gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and is firmly maintaining the world's No. 1 ranking, will aim for the women's singles gold medal for the first time in 28 years.

In the women's doubles, the world's No. 2 Baek Ha-na (23, MG Saemaul Geumgo) - Lee So-hee (30, Incheon International Airport) and No. 7 Kim So-young (31, Incheon International Airport) - Kong Hee-yong (27, Jeonbuk Bank) will dream of a Taegeuk Warriors final.

The two groups won silver and bronze medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games, respectively.

Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong also won bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics, beating their teammates Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan.

Seo Seung-jae (26, Samsung Life), who won two World Championships last year, will team up with Kang Min-hyeok (25, Samsung Life) in men's doubles and Chae Yu-jeong (29, Incheon International Airport) in mixed doubles to try to win two events.

They won a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Kim Won-ho (25, Samsung Life) and Jeong Na-eun (24, Hwasun County Office) in mixed doubles, Jeon Hyeok-jin (29, Yonex) in men's singles, and Kim Ga-eun (26, Samsung Life) in women's singles will also aim for a surprise smash.

Coach Kim Hak-gyun, who took the helm in November of the year before last, is determined to declare a golden age for Korean badminton through the Paris Olympics.

At a media day event last month, Coach Kim said, “There is more trust between the players and coaches than at the Asian Games, and the sense of purpose is more solid,” and expressed his confidence by saying, “All the players are gold medal candidates.

It wouldn’t be surprising if any player wins a gold medal.”

He added, “There has never been more than two gold medals in the Olympics.

We are challenging that much,” and emphasized, “I don’t know who will be (the main character), but our players will take that glory.”

However, since the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open, which were preliminary matches for the Olympics, left some disappointments, it seems that the key is to thoroughly complete the final preparations.

Last year, they won three gold medals (women’s singles, mixed doubles, and men’s doubles) at the World Championships a month before the Asian Games, but they won two gold medals (women’s singles and women’s doubles) at these two competitions.