Ahn Se-young & Heo Mimi: 2002 Stars Rise in Badminton & Judo

2026, the Year of the Red Horse, is the Year of the Red Horse. We introduce the ‘horse year sports stars’ born in 2002 who are ready to run toward their goals like a red horse, a symbol of passion and challenge.

‘Badminton Empress’ Ahn Se-young is a representative horse star born in 2002. Last year, he tied the record for most wins in a single season (11 wins) in men’s and women’s badminton history, and boarded a plane to Malaysia on New Year’s Day. Ahn Se-young will defend her title at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Malaysia Open (Super 1000), which opens on the 6th. Starting with this tournament, he will try again for his first ever ‘Super 1000 Slam’ (winning all Super 1000 tournaments), which he was unable to achieve after withdrawing from the semifinals of the China Open last year due to knee pain. Among the competitions organized by BWF, the four Super 1000 competitions that are recognized as the most prestigious after the World Championships are the Malaysia Open, Indonesia Open, All England Open, and China Open.

Ahn Se-young, who has already reached the top at the Olympics (2024), World Championships, and Asian Games (2023), will become the second women’s singles player to achieve the ‘Grand Slam’ if she wins the Asian Championships in April. Ahn Se-young aims to become the first Korean singles player to win two consecutive titles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.
‘Female judo star’ Heo Mimi is determined to win her first gold medal at the Asian Games. Heo Mimi, a fifth-generation descendant of independence activist Heo Seok (1857-1920) and born to a Korean father and Japanese mother, renounced her Japanese nationality in 2023 and wore the Taegeuk symbol. In a phone call with Dong-A Ilbo, Mimi Heo said, “As this is the Asian Games being held in Japan, I really want to win a gold medal.”

Mimi Heo, who fell into a slump for a while after receiving a shoulder surgery after winning a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, announced her revival by winning a gold medal at the International Judo Federation (IJF) Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in November last year.

The men’s basketball team is also challenging for its first Asian Games gold medal in 12 years. At the center is Yeo Jun-seok (University of Seattle), the ‘future of Korean men’s basketball.’ If Korean men’s basketball wants to conquer the Asian Games, it must overcome the ‘Great Wall’ of China. Yeo Jun-seok, who is 203cm tall and has excellent speed and elasticity, is Korea’s key forward who can neutralize the defense of taller opponents. Yeo Jun-seok is showing growth by recording an average of 11.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball regular league in the 2025-2026 season.

Lee Tae-seok (Austria Vienna), a wing defender on the national soccer team who was born in the year of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, which was covered in red waves, will attempt to become the second father-son World Cup participant in Korean soccer history at the North and Central America World Cup opening in June. Lee Tae-seok’s father is former Gyeongnam coach Lee Eul-yong, who was one of the key players in Korea’s semifinal victory in the Korea-Japan World Cup. The record of being the first father and son to participate in the World Cup in Korean soccer history is held by Cha Bum-geun and Cha Du-ri. ‘World Cup kids born in 2002’ who are playing overseas, such as Uhm Uhm-seong (Swansea City), Lee Han-beom (Midtjylland), and Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), are also aiming to make it to the final entry list for the World Cup.

Cho Byeong-hyun, the closing pitcher for professional baseball team SSG, dreams of participating in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. Cho Byeong-hyun, who is participating in the WBC camp held in Saipan from the 9th to the 21st, said, “I will become a consistently good player.” Byung-Hyun Cho appeared in 69 games last year and recorded 5 wins, 4 losses, 30 saves, and an ERA of 1.60. Kim Joo-hyung, whose world ranking fell to 107th last year, is aiming to break out of his slump and win his fourth career PGA Tour title.

Reporter Lee So-yeon always99@donga.com
Reporter Jong-ho Han hjh@donga.com