Coach Kim Hak-gyun said, “A competition with more benefits than losses… the best for Olympic performance” The Korean women’s badminton team was caught by Indonesia and failed to win the World Team Championships for the second time in a row.
The women’s badminton team lost 2-3 to Indonesia in the semifinals of the 30th World Women’s Team Championship (Uber Cup) held in Chengdu, China on the 4th, and finished in third place.
The World Men’s and Women’s Team Championships are the most prestigious badminton team competition held every two years. The men’s tournament is called the Thomas Cup and the women’s tournament is called the Uber Cup.
16 countries each for men and women participate in the group stage in 4 groups, and then the 1st and 2nd place winners from each group advance to the quarterfinals and compete for the championship in a single match.
The Korean women’s national team, which defeated China in the finals at the 29th tournament held in 2022 and won its second championship since 2010, attempted to win the championship for the second time in a row this year.
Korea, which took first place in Group D by defeating Mexico, the United States, and Denmark in the group stage, defeated Chinese Taipei 5-0 in the quarterfinals on the 3rd and cruised to the semifinals.
However, on this day, Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), the world number one in women’s singles due to a bad knee, was unable to overcome the aftereffects of missing the event and turned around at the threshold of the final.
Lee So-hee (Incheon International Airport) and Baek Hana (MG Saemaeul Geumgo), Jeong Na-eun (Hwasun County Office) and Gong Hee-yong (Jeonbuk Bank), who played the second and fourth doubles runners out of five matches, each won, but won in the singles match. Sim Yu-jin (Incheon International Airport), Kim Gar-ram (Cheong Kwan-jang), and Kim Min-seon (Chiak High School) all lost.
The Korean men’s national team, which participated in the 33rd Thomas Cup being held at the same venue, was eliminated after losing to Indonesia in the quarterfinals the day before.
After finishing the tournament, national team coach Kim Hak-kyun placed significance on the harvest achieved in the absence of key players.
In addition to Ahn Se-young’s absence on this day, women’s singles Kim Ga-eun (Samsung Life Insurance) and doubles Kim So-young (Incheon International Airport) were unable to board the plane to China due to injuries.
Coach Kim said, “There were players who were playing in a big competition for the first time, and I am personally satisfied because they found what they needed to do to improve in the future.” He added, “Even though the result of the match was disappointing, it was a competition that had more benefits than losses.”
In particular, regarding women’s singles Kim Min-seon, he said, “It must have been very difficult today, but if I felt how much training and mind control was needed to overcome my shortcomings, I think I could become a player like the next Ahn Se-young.”
Regarding Ahn Se-young’s physical condition, “It’s not perfect yet.
“We are preparing step by step to focus on the Olympics,” he said.
Coach Kim expressed his determination, saying, “I will do my best to prepare for badminton in the Olympics so that it can achieve the same level of performance as the last Asian Games.”
/yunhap news