[스포티비뉴스=방이동, 박대현 기자] During his active years, Kim Dong-moon (50), president of the Korea Badminton Association, commanded the world as the best technician of his time.
The play was excellent, reading the enemy’s psychology and catching them off guard with sharp counterattacks rather than pressing them with force. It is an established belief in the badminton world that if you list the lineage of Korean men’s badminton, it leads to Park Joo-bong, Kim Dong-moon, Lee Yong-dae, and Seo Seung-jae.
His major skills are also spectacular. Chairman Kim, who won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, teamed up with his ‘soul partner’ Ha Tae-kwon to win the men’s doubles gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Together with Gil Young-ah, Ha Tae-kwon, and Ra Kyung-min, he reigned as the ‘doubles emperor’ on various international stages, including the World Championships, for over 10 years.
In particular, the team of Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min maintained the world’s No. 1 mixed uniform for a long time, setting a remarkable record of winning 70 consecutive international competitions and 14 consecutive competitions from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. The two teamed up to win a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics, leaving a mark for Chairman Kim by entering the Olympic podium for the third time in a row. In addition, he is the only Korean badminton player to hold Grand Slams in two events (mixed uniform and men’s uniform).
▲ During his active years, Kim Dong-moon (left), president of the Korea Badminton Association, commanded the world as the best technician of his time. The play was excellent, reading the enemy’s psychology and catching them off guard with sharp counterattacks rather than pressing them with force. It is an established belief in the badminton world that if you list the lineage of Korean men’s badminton, it leads to Park Joo-bong, Kim Dong-moon, Lee Yong-dae, and Seo Seung-jae.
Even to Chairman Kim, who has built a flawless career, Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) was an amazing person. “Ahn Se-young is the best player of all time,” he said, sticking his tongue out.
Chairman Kim, who met at the office of the Korea Badminton Association on the 12th, said in an interview with SPOTV News, “Ahn Se-young is completely ‘another level’. In the past, there were Park Joo-bong, Suzy Susanthi (Indonesia), Su-hyun Bang, and then me and Ha Tae-kwon, and later Lin Dan (China) Yong-dae Lee, etc., but now it can be seen that Ahn Se-young has inherited the baton, and she is the best among the existing top players. It is really hard to see it again. He did not hold back on praising him, calling him “a player.”
Seyoung Ahn did not pick just one strength. Both ‘head’ and ‘body’ were praised as being the best of all time.
“First of all, Ahn Se-young plays based on strong endurance and stamina. He tends to have long rallies. The ranker who plays against Ahn Se-young is bound to get tired. The surprising thing is that (Ahn Se-young) has so much stamina that this shakes the opponent mentally. This has the effect of implanting in the opponent’s mind that ‘I am physically stronger and superior to anyone else’. In this way, the longer the rally lasts, the more likely the opponent will be in the latter half of the game. He emphasized, “The more I think about it, the less likely I am to win.”
“In addition, she is at the top level in areas other than physical strength, such as strength and technique. Ahn Se-young embodies the same techniques that almost male players would use, such as a half smash with a high RBI even when she is tired, or an attack that is one or two beats faster in tempo even when she jumps at full power. These techniques are accompanied by a huge amount of physical strength consumption for both the attacking player and the defending player. (As mentioned above) Ahn Se-young’s impact is small because she is supported by her physical strength. Of the male rankers He gave a thumbs up, saying, “If you watch the game, you rarely see your posture wavering.”
▲ Even to Kim Dong-moon, president of the Korea Badminton Association, who has built a flawless career, Ahn Se-young (pictured) was an amazing person. “Ahn Se-young is the best player of all time,” he said, sticking his tongue out. ⓒ Badminton World Federation (BWF) Instagram capture
Ahn Se-young’s goals this season include winning the Asian Championships to achieve a Grand Slam (Ningbo, China, April) and winning two consecutive Asian Games (Nagoya, Japan, September), which even the ‘original legend’ Bang Bang-hyun of the women’s singles could not achieve.
Chairman Kim was wary of off-court factors. His on-court appearance was 120% perfect, so there was nothing to criticize, but he urged people to be careful of the ‘paradox of goals’.
“It’s really good to set big goals, such as winning a Grand Slam and two consecutive Asian Games, and an undefeated season. However, from now on (having reached the pinnacle of women’s singles), I hope to calmly enjoy every tournament and every match. I also received rave reviews from people around me as I won 70 games in a row during my active career, and this put pressure on me, so I experienced the pain of only getting a bronze medal in an event where everyone expected a gold medal (mixed uniform at the Athens Olympics). It still remains a bit of a trauma to me. The winning streak, “I hope you listen to the stories surrounding me, such as my losing streak and Grand Slam.”
“Although she is still in her prime, Ahn Se-young can usher in an even bigger heyday in the future. Therefore, I hope that tangible goals such as winning two consecutive Asian Games or reclaiming the top spot at the World Championships should be viewed as just a ‘process’. If you think that you will definitely achieve this, the burden can actually increase. Since her skills are outstanding and she is currently playing really well, I hope to maintain the pace this year with the mindset of enjoying her game more lightly.”
▲ Yonhap News
He did not forget to praise the team of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho (Samsung Life Insurance) who are succeeding him. He couldn’t help but be impressed, saying, “It’s safe to say that they are the best doubles team in our country’s history.”
“Currently, Korean men’s doubles is at the top level in the world. There have been many outstanding seniors, including myself, but Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho can be evaluated as the most ideal combination (among them all). They play high-quality matches based on cool-headedness and high concentration. I think they are the best doubles team in Korea (traditionally strong in doubles) of all time. It is the same around the world.”
“They are a combination of a right-hander (Kim Won-ho) and a left-hander (Seo Seung-jae), but they are very fast and both are tall. Nevertheless, the witty play and stable play in front of the net are very impressive. In addition, both are capable of multiplayer. They are good at back-end attacks, solid defense, and net play, so they do not waver even when the front and back positions change during the game. They have excellent multi-tasking, which dramatically increases the completeness of the game,” he said.
▲ Kim Dong-moon, president of the Korea Badminton Association, did not spare praise for the ‘doubles emperors’ of the 2020s, saying, “Even in Korea, which is traditionally strong in doubles, I think Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho are a doubles team comparable to the best of all time.”
Chairman Kim left remarkable achievements in both men’s and mixed uniforms during his time as an athlete. However, at present, Korean badminton is relatively unable to produce a golden duo that stands out in mixed competition. Chairman Kim pointed to the ‘thin player base’ as the cause.
“In fact, the Korean player base is very thin. The size of the national team is only 38 men and women combined. It is less than 40. If you look at China, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries, there are so many players in each sport. That is why generational changes are smooth. In Korea, on the other hand, this is not the case. The reason why players who play men’s and women’s doubles also play mixed games is because of the talent pool that is not thick.”
“In the case of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, they decided to focus only on men’s doubles after the 2024 Paris Olympics. I think this decision played a big role in the rise of the two players last year. Not only does the physical burden lessen, but it also increases the time to build partnerships with each other. In addition, if you play two sports in parallel, your play style will inevitably get mixed up. You should not play a mixed style during a men’s doubles match, but there are aftereffects such as unknowingly coming out. There is.”
“Mixed uniforms, where people of the opposite sex work hand and foot, is a sport where long-term cooperation and trust are key. The association is also seeking structural changes to increase competitiveness in mixed uniforms. We have plans to discover and nurture mixed uniform players,” he said, promising to foster the second Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min, and the post-post Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jeong.
Chairman Kim expressed his gratitude throughout the interview to his juniors who laid the foundation for the development of badminton in Korea. So, paradoxically, there was quite a bit of concern. He expressed without filter his sincere wish for a long run without burden or injury.
“It was during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. It wasn’t until a dozen years after I started playing that I was able to understand the meaning of ‘playing badminton while having fun.’ In fact, my game got better after that.” said.
“I believe that when you do that, your skills will come out (consistently) and the chance of injury will be greatly reduced. Ahn Se-young, Seo Seung-jae, and Kim Won-ho are clearly the players who are dominating the court at the moment. They seem to be enjoying the game. However, when playing in a tournament with a big title at stake, (even their calm mentality) can suddenly become impatient or intimidated. (This tendency is especially strong in mixed doubles) A ranker who has maintained the top seed all year can play in the Olympics. This is why there are so many cases where top players do not win gold medals, and juniors, who are the treasures of Korean badminton, are always exposed to such dangers, so I hope they will keep the meaning of ‘hitting lightly’ in mind and continue their active careers for a long time,” he said, encouraging the strong “backwaves” that push forward the Yangtze River until the end of the interview.
