[서울=뉴스핌] Reporter Park Sang-wook = Chae Yu-jeong (30, Incheon International Airport), who played a leading role in Korean badminton while playing on the mixed doubles court for 15 years, laid down the Taegeuk symbol. He officially announced his retirement from the national team after the French Open, which was his last tournament after advancing to the semifinals of the Paris Olympics.
On the 23rd, Chae Yu-jeong said through her social network service (SNS), “The last competition as a national representative has finally come to an end. You may think that I am retiring suddenly, but it is something I have been thinking about since the beginning of this year.” He then confessed, “There is no separate representative selection match for the mixed doubles event. I had to hold a selection match for the women’s doubles, but since I have only been a mixed doubles player so far, it seemed like it would be a difficult journey to try again. I did not have the confidence to participate again, so I decided to give up.”
| Chae Yu-jeong. [사진=채유정 SNS] |
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 750 French Open mixed doubles round of 32 held on the 22nd was his last stage. Paired with Lee Jong-min, he ended the tournament losing 1-2 (21-14 12-21 16-21) to Scotland’s Alex Dunn and Julie McPherson. Chae Yoo-jeong, who finished her retirement game, said, “I wanted to do well because it was the last stage. I feel sorry for Jong-min’s nephew. Still, he is a player who can do better in the future, so please show a lot of support.”
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| Chae Yu-jeong (left), national team coach Park Joo-bong, and Lee Jong-min. [사진=채유정 SNS] |
The juniors of the national team also left warm messages. Ahn Se-young said, “Thank you for your hard work. I hope that only good things will happen in the future,” and Seo Seung-jae expressed his gratitude, saying, “It was an honor to be with you for 15 years. Thanks to you, I have achieved a lot.”
Chae Yu-jeong, a graduate of Seongil Girls’ High School, entered the Taereung Athletes’ Village at the age of 19 and played as a centerpiece of the national team for 15 years. Representative achievements include winning the mixed doubles title at the 2017 Sudirman Cup, a gold medal and bronze medal in the team event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, and a gold medal in mixed doubles at the 2023 World Championships. In particular, the moment when he teamed up with Seo Seung-jae and defeated China’s Zheng Si-wei and Huang Ya-chong, the world’s No. 1 team, to reach the top of mixed doubles after 20 years, was a scene that will remain in Korean badminton history.
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| Chae Yu-jeong (left) and Seo Seung-jae. [사진=BWF] |
At last year’s Paris Olympics, he reached the semifinals with Seo Seung-jae, but did not win a medal. Afterwards, as Seo Seung-jae concentrated on men’s doubles, Chae Yu-jeong formed a new team with Lee Jong-min, who is 11 years younger than her, but put down her racket for the last time at the French Open.
psoq1337@newspim.com
