“Korea gained confidence with the World Championships… Japan is weaker than 5 years ago” Japan’s badminton team defeated China in the women’s team finals of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.
Japan won the gold medal in the women’s team event at the Asian Games for the first time in 48 years, and China withdrew from the top spot it had held for five consecutive competitions since 1998.
At that time, Korea was eliminated in the quarterfinals and suffered the humiliation of not winning a medal for the first time in 40 years.
At the center of the stark intersection of joy and sorrow between Korea and Japan was Korean badminton legend Park Joo-bong (58), coach of the Japanese national team.
Since the 2004 Athens Olympics, he has served as the head coach of Japanese badminton, leading to major physical improvements and ushering in a revival of Japanese badminton.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Japan won its first Olympic medal in badminton history (silver medal in women’s doubles), and finally won its first gold medal (women’s doubles) at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
At the World Individual Championships, he has won five consecutive events since 2017.
Until last year, Korea was in a position to envy Japan’s growth.
However, at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the situation changed 180 degrees.
Korea emerged as a strong candidate for the championship, showing strength in three doubles events, led by world number one women’s singles player Ahn Se-young.
On the other hand, Japan suffered from injuries to Nozomi Okuhara (29th in singles) and Sayaka Hirota (4th in doubles) while women’s singles ace Akane Yamaguchi faltered.
Even Yamaguchi suffered an ankle injury in the women’s team quarterfinals against Taiwan on the 29th and had to withdraw.
The result of the game was a 3-1 victory for Japan.
Coach Park Joo-bong, whom we met after the game, knew better than anyone else that the tide had turned.
Coach Park said, “Japan’s strength has weakened compared to five years ago, and there has been little change in players (since then).
“In fact, this Asian Games is in a very difficult situation because a good player got injured.”
He then said about Korean badminton, “It is at its peak right now.
“Now we have an advantage over Japan,” he analyzed.
In particular, he explained that the World Championships last month were an opportunity for a leap forward.
At the World Championships, Korea achieved its best performance ever by winning the women’s singles (Ahn Se-young), mixed doubles (Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jeong), and men’s doubles (Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk).
Japan only reached the finals in the men’s singles, finishing with a silver medal.
Coach Park said, “(Korea) seems to have gained confidence through the World Championships,” and added, “Men’s doubles and mixed doubles have also risen to the top ranks in the world.”
Director Park also pointed out the rivalry between Ahn Se-young and Yamaguchi, saying, “At the beginning of this year, we were winning and losing against each other, but now Ahn Se-young has completely stepped up.”
Japan will play the women’s team semifinal against China on the 29th.
In the opposite match, Korea and Thailand will face off.
/yunhap news
2023-09-29 09:08:33
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One Response
Yes I agree that Korea badminton is coming up. I think it was since their victory over dominant China during the Uber Cup in 2022. Their mens department though is still lacking with no singles player currently ranked in the top 40.