“Our goal for the Asian Games is definitely gold.”
The Korean badminton team has returned home with its best-ever performance at the World Individual Badminton Championships ahead of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.
The team, led by head coach Kim Hak-gyun, returned home to Incheon International Airport on Monday from the 2023 World Individual Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. The 27-day event was Korea’s best-ever performance at the World Championships. It was the first time in the 46-year history of the World Championships, which began in 1977, that a Korean player dominated the singles event.
It is the first time South Korea has won three events in the five-event competition, and the four medals are a tie for the most ever. With the Hangzhou Asian Games just over a month away, the success at the World Championships signals the resurgence of the sport as an Asian Games favorite.
Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life) took the top spot in the women’s singles, while Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk (Samsung Life) and Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung (Incheon International Airport) won gold in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles. In the women’s doubles, Kim So-young (Incheon International Airport) and Gong Hee-yong (Jeonbuk Bank) took bronze.
Ahn, who has been winning gold medals at a “steep pace,” is currently ranked No. 1 in the world with seven wins and three runner-up finishes at various international events this year alone. With this victory, she has carved out a path for herself to become a Korean badminton ‘legend’.
Speaking to the press, Ahn said, “It was my first tournament after becoming the world’s No. 1 player, so there was a lot of pressure and it was hard at times, but I handled it well with the confidence of being No. 1, and I’m happy that I was able to bring home a good result.”
It had been 27 years since a South Korean player reached the top of the women’s singles rankings, and Ahn swept the World Championships, signaling that her time had come. In particular, her upset victory over Nozomi Okuhara (JPN) in the quarterfinals, followed by a sweep of her ‘nemesis’ Chen Yuefei (CHN) in the semifinals, boosted her confidence.
“Chen Yufei was a very tricky player for me, but I think I was able to confidently play the way I wanted to play and get through it easily,” Ahn said. “Okuhara was my first time playing her, so I think it was important to get rid of my nerves quickly, so I focused on that. The coach pointed out that I kept starting defensively from the bottom, so I tried to figure it out quickly and execute it.”
Speaking in English after the World Championships awards ceremony, he said, “My English teacher told me to ‘throw it’ with confidence, so I did. What I learned is a style that I have to use,” she smiled.
Now, Ahn is aiming for the ‘Grand Slam’. “I’m happy and proud of myself because I won the first place in one of them, the World Championships,” Ahn said, adding that she would like to win the Asian Games, the Olympics, the Asian Games, and the Asian Championships.
“My goal for the Asian Games is definitely gold. If I get greedy, it often doesn’t work out. If you take it one game at a time and do your best every day, good things will come. I think the process is also important, so it will be difficult, but I will do my best to get through it.” “Sometimes you don’t know what to expect from your opponent (against Asian players), so I think it’s my job to practice for that. I think it’s polite to do your best when dealing with players in any competition, so I will prepare well.”
Seo won both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles, making him the third South Korean to win multiple titles in a single event, joining Park Joo-bong (1985 men’s doubles and mixed doubles, 1991 men’s doubles and mixed doubles) and Kim Dong-moon (1999 men’s doubles and mixed doubles).
“I would be lying if I said that competing in two sports was not physically demanding,” Seo said. “The trainers took great care of me and the coaches gave me good feedback. My partners also helped me a lot,” he said.
Kang Min-hyuk, who teamed up with Seo Seung-jae in the men’s doubles, said, “(Seo) Seung-jae is not a shy player, but after playing two matches, I could see that he was physically exhausted. In the past, my brother has led me in every match, but this time, I wanted to lead the way and produce a result.” “I think we were able to win because of our eagerness,” he said.
Seo Seung-jae’s rise to prominence has raised hopes that he will continue the lineage of men’s badminton stars that includes Park Joo-bong, Kim Dong-moon, and Lee Yong-dae. Immediately, the phrase “post-Yong-dae” began to be used. Lee Yong-dae was one of the biggest stars of Korean badminton, winning a gold medal in mixed doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a bronze medal in men’s doubles at the 2012 London Olympics.
When asked about the comparison, Seo said, “He’s a legend, so I’m honored just to be mentioned. It’s still a long way for me to go,” he said, “but if I don’t get carried away and do what I can, I think I’ll be able to surpass him one day.”
With the Hangzhou Asian Games just over a month away, South Korea’s badminton team will be hoping to improve on their ‘no-medal’ performance five years ago. The doubles team, led by Seo Seung-jae, is more important than ever. “I think we showed that we can do it after the World Championships. We will not rest on our laurels and will continue to improve until the Asian Games and next year’s Paris Olympics to deliver good news.”
Kang Min-hyuk said, “I didn’t expect to win this tournament, but I got greedy as I focused on each game with the idea that I could do anything.” He added, “This is not the end, but the beginning. We will work hard to prepare for other competitions.” Chae Yoo-jung, who also competed in the mixed doubles, said, “I was upset when I heard that Korea’s mixed doubles were not doing well recently, but I didn’t care and thought that I had to go my own way, and I think I was able to achieve good results thanks to that.”
Meanwhile, the badminton team will return to the National Training Center in Jincheon to continue their cooling off period, before wrapping up their preparations for the Asian Games with the China Open Championships early next month. 안전놀이터