Hoping for Korean shuttlecock men’s singles showing signs of a rebound Jeon Hyuk-jin (Yonex)｜Sports Dong-a

“I want to make good use of my rich experience in international competitions and team events.”

Korean badminton has world-class rankings in each event, including women’s singles Ahn Se-young (2nd in the world ranking), women’s doubles Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (6th), and mixed doubles Seo Seung-jae-Chae Yoo-jeong (4th). Apart from the rankings, the appearance of Kim Won-ho and Na Seong-seung (331st), who are threatening men’s doubles Choi Sol-kyu and Kim Won-ho (9th) and Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk (16th), is also working as a boon.

However, men’s singles are a traditional weakness. South Korea has not been able to win medals in men’s singles at the Olympics and Asian Games since Son Seung-mo (silver medal) at the 2004 Athens Olympics and Park Seong-hwan (bronze medal) at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. In the meantime, world-class stars such as Lee Hyun-il and Son Wan-ho appeared, but compared to other events, it was a big disappointment.

However, Korea saw hope in the 2023 Sudirman Cup (World Badminton Championships), which recently finished as runner-up in Suzhou, China. This is because Jeon Hyuk-jin (58th) of Yonex, the strongest player in men’s singles, is showing signs of a rebound. Jeon Hyeok-jin won 2 wins against Cholan Kayan (UK, 234th place) – Kenta Nishimoto (Japan, 2-0 win, 13th place) – Rijigia (Malaysia, 0-2 loss, 10th place) in the Sudirman Cup got 1 loss It is not a remarkable achievement compared to his colleagues in other events, but the fact that he once climbed to 17th and showed signs of recovery is a good thing for Korea.

Jeon Hyeok-jin was a gold medalist in the men’s team event at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and his potential was greatly recognized as a promising player. However, he struggled with a knee injury for over two years from 2017 and suffered the pain of falling to 990th place. Badminton fans’ gaze toward him is sad because he started to show his competitiveness again on the big stage after difficulties.

Jeon Hyeok-jin recently met with Sports Donga and said, “I had high expectations because there were many good results in team events such as the Thomas Cup. He thought to run confidently throughout the competition,” he said. “I am always looking at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He said, “Now he knows that it is difficult to compete in the world rankings, so he is working harder.”

Although there is a large gap with juniors such as Lee Yoon-gyu (210th) and Cho Joon-yeop (217th), he is trying hard not to catch up. He himself has little difference in skill compared to his juniors, and although he is the best male player in the national team, he is full of thoughts that he needs to improve his ranking. At the Malaysia Masters right after the Sudirman Cup, Sujupen (Malaysia, 2-0 win, 68th place) ~ Christo Popov (France, 2-1 win, 35th place) ~ Rasmus Gemke (Denmark, 1-2 loss, 19th place), etc. are improving their performance against the National team coach Kim Hak-gyun said, “I was always expecting (from Hyuk-jin), but it was important how close I was to expectations.” He seems to be getting better in the future.”

The immediate task is to accumulate ranking points for participation in the Paris Olympics and to do well in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Korean badminton suffered the first no-medal humiliation at the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games. The role of Jeon Hyeok-jin, the oldest in men’s singles and team events, is desperately needed.

Jeon Hyuk-jin said, “I defeated Nishimoto in the Sudirman Cup. Six years ago, Nishimoto was ranked lower than me, but suddenly he entered the top 10 of the world rankings and is still ranked high,” he said. As much as my physical condition is returning, I think it is worth taking on the challenge. I will prepare fiercely while aiming for the top spot in every competition I participate in, not to mention the Asian Games.”

Reporter Jaemin Kwon [email protected] See more articles by reporter