Para-badminton national team athlete Park Hae-sung has dropped over 20 kilograms and secured his place on South Korea’s roster for the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games, targeting a gold medal in his debut at the continental multi-sport event. The 29-year-old athlete, representing Ulsan Jung-gu Office, shared his journey at a media day event held on Oct. 6 at the Korea Paralympic Committee training center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, as reported by sports.khan.co.kr.
From Solitary Isolation to the National Training Center
Park’s path to competitive sports was interrupted in the eighth grade of middle school by severe back pain that doctors traced to a tumor in his thoracic spine. Surgery required the removal of part of his spinal nerves, resulting in lower-body paralysis and a permanent transition to a wheelchair. The sudden shift upended his active personality, leading to a period of seclusion where he spent two to three years staying almost exclusively indoors, according to sports.news.nate.com.
His routine changed entirely when an unfamiliar woman approached him at a grocery store and suggested he visit a local welfare center. Skeptical at first, Park eventually made the trip, where he saw peers with similar disabilities living active, independent lives. That chance encounter pulled him out of isolation. “If I hadn’t met that woman at the store, I probably would still be staying at home today,” Park recalled.
Park Overcomes Weight Struggles to Pursue Badminton
Before finding his sport, Park sampled table carving, billiards, and park golf without sustaining interest. Badminton captured his attention because of the sharp impact feel when swinging the racket. However, years of physical inactivity had left him weighing well over 100 kilograms, making basic wheelchair mobility across the court exhausting and difficult.
When he committed to a full-time athletic career in 2023, the physical conditioning regimen proved punishing. “At first, I wanted to run away after just a week,” Park said. Pushing the wheelchair back and forth under heavy physical loads left him gasping for air. He persevered by reminding himself that veteran teammates had endured the exact same hardship to reach the national level. Within three months of intense training, he advanced to his first tournament semifinal and claimed a medal, validating the grueling workouts.
Reaching the 70-Kilogram Range and Preparing for the Asian Para Games
The rigorous training yielded visible physical changes. Park’s weight dropped from above 100 kilograms down to approximately 78 kilograms, vastly improving his endurance and overall health. Embracing the nickname “Ddung-tti”—a playful moniker from his heavier days that he still regards with affection—he transitioned into national team contention last year.
Park enters the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games competing across three divisions: men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Recent international results, including a men’s singles bronze medal and a mixed doubles gold medal, established his competitive standing on the global circuit. Looking ahead to his first international multi-sport games, Park noted that overthinking remains his primary opponent. “When you have too many thoughts, mistakes happen,” he explained. “My plan is to keep it simple: just hit the shuttlecock when it comes.”
