After returning to Korea through Incheon International Airport on the 22nd, Coach Park said, “I am happy that we achieved the final result in the last competition of the year,” and added, “The national team players worked tirelessly and had a hard time.”
Korea won the women’s singles (Ahn Se-young), women’s doubles (Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee), and men’s doubles (Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae) championship trophies at the World Tour Finals, a king-of-the-match tournament held in Hangzhou, China.
This is the first time that Korea has won three gold medals in the King of Kings Championship, which was established in 1983. The previous record was two wins in the women’s singles (Ahn Se-young) and women’s doubles (Kim So-young and Kong Hee-yong) in the 2021 tournament.
Coach Park said, “I didn’t expect to win three events, but the performance was better than expected. I am proud that Ahn Se-young overcame muscle spasms in her left hamstring (the muscle behind the thigh) in the final against Wang Ziyi (China) and achieved her 11th victory.”
He continued, “Kim Won-ho, who had a back injury, was worried about whether he would be able to play normally when he arrived in China, but he had a strong will to play. He played faster than usual and reduced his activity level, and Seo Seung-jae helped him a lot in the game. These things worked together well and he won his 11th championship.”
Regarding Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, who won the tournament for the second time in a row, he explained, “Net play was their weak point, but on the contrary, they played boldly. This play itself made the opponent nervous, and they beat China and even defeated Japan in the final.”
When asked about the driving force behind the team’s best performance, Coach Park responded, “With the establishment of a new system, an environment has been created where players with the best skills can train comfortably.”
After a short break, the badminton team will begin preparations for the Malaysia Open starting on January 7th next year.
Coach Park emphasized, “We will leave the country in January next year to play in the Malaysia Open and India Open. The players need to rest and prepare well.”
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