Seo Seung-jae (left) and Kang Min-hyuk. Photo = Getty Images Korea
One of the challenges faced by Korean badminton is ‘finding the best combination for men’s doubles’. It is a homework that must be solved to restore pride in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics as coach Kim Hak-gyun (52) of the national badminton team aims.
Korean badminton is currently playing Thailand Open after passing through the 2023 Sudirman Cup (World Mixed Team Championships) and Malaysia Masters held in Suzhou, China recently. Afterwards, the first-level members will return to Korea at the end of June after participating in the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open.
The achievements during the dispatch period are not insignificant. He finished runner-up at the Sudirman Cup and won 2 gold and 2 bronze medals at the Malaysian Masters. In particular, driving the momentum of the runner-up in the Sudirman Cup, men’s doubles Seo Seung-jae (26, Armed Forces Athletic Corps) – Kang Min-hyeok (24, Samsung Life Insurance, world ranking 12th) and women’s doubles Baek Ha-na (23, MG Saemaul Geumgo) – Lee So-hee at the Malaysia Masters (29, Incheon International Airport, 2nd place) is a good thing that won the gold medal. Three groups of women’s doubles and two groups of mixed doubles firmly established themselves as a ‘doubles powerhouse’.
However, men’s doubles are still looking for the optimal combination. After Kim Won-ho (24, Samsung Life Insurance) and Na Seong-seung (24, Gimcheon City Hall, 331st) formed in February this year, Fajar Alpian-Muhammad Rian Adianto (Indonesia, 1st place), Aaron Chia-So Wiik (Malaysia, 2nd place) Above), and revealed the prospects for the Asian Games, which include team events. However, it is not easy to operate these combinations in Paris as the Olympic ranking point aggregation period is short from May 1 this year to April 28 next year.
In the end, it is necessary to find the optimal combination among the existing combinations Seo Seung-jae-Kang Min-hyuk, Kim Won-ho-Choi Sol-gyu (28, Armed Forces Athletic Corps, 10th), and Na Seong-seung-Jin-yong (20, Yonex, 50th). In the Olympics, a maximum of 8 players per country can participate, but Korea usually competed in two groups in men’s doubles.
In the men’s doubles, the news of winning the Asian Games stopped after the silver medal of Lee Yong-dae-Flexibility and the bronze medal of Kim Ki-jeong-Kim Sa-rang at the 2014 Incheon Games. The bronze medal between Lee Yong-dae and Jeong Jae-seong at the 2012 London Olympics was the last. Attention is focusing on which group will be chosen by coach Kim in the men’s doubles, where three groups will compete.
Reporter Kwon Jae-min [email protected]
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2023-05-31 06:26:48
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