“If you look at one, you can see the future.”
These are the words that Korean badminton team coach Kim Hak-gyun (52) emphasized ahead of the European tour in March. This means that Baek Ha-na (23, MG Saemaul Geumgo), a young prospective player, will come with a foothold to grow into the next generation women’s doubles.
The European tour in March starts with the German Open on the 7th, then the Jeonyeong Open (14-19), the Swiss Open (21-26), and the Spanish Masters (March 28-April 2). It’s a strong march.
The steps of the national team departing on the 4th are quite light. In January, she announced a fresh start to the new year by winning two gold medals, four silver medals, and five bronze medals, including consecutive gold medals by Ahn Se-young (21, Samsung Life Insurance) 바카라사이트in women’s singles at four international tournaments on the Southeast Asian tour. At the Asian Mixed Team Championships in February, even with the strength of the 1.5 group, they won runner-up and achieved results beyond expectations.
Director Kim said that we should be wary of ‘Ilhee, Ilbi’ and said, “We must go beyond achievements and build a future and hope.” It is for a long-term plan targeting the Hangzhou Asian Games to be held in September and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
So, the one who paid attention was ‘(100) Hana’. The goal of coach Kim, who took over the leadership of the national team, is to ‘erase the dark history’. After winning the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Korea only won bronze medals (women’s doubles) at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and it was a ‘no medal’ at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.
For the past 10 years, Korea has been walking through the era of ‘Women’s World’, where women’s events are strong. In the singles, there is Ahn Se-young, the second-ranked ace in the world, but in the women’s doubles, there is no clear card as before.
Lee So-hee (29) – Shin Seung-chan (28, Incheon International Airport), Kim So-young (31, Incheon International Airport) – Gong Hee-yong (27, Jeonbuk Bank), who are facing the weight of time, need successors. This is also the reason Baek Ha-na was chosen as the ‘sprout’ for spring.
Kim Hye-jung (25, Samsung Life Insurance) and Jung Na-eun (23, Hwasun-gun Office), who are ranked 4th in the world, and Kim So-yeong and Gong Hee-yong, who are ranked 7th in the world, are added to Ha-Baek and Lee So-hee, who are ranked 7th in the world. In the past, when Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan were young, the power-oriented game style worked well, but as they grew older and showed limits, they experimented with the Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee combination and concluded that they were more competitive.
During the last Southeast Asian tour, Hana Baek took turns pairing with Lee Yoo-rim (23, Samsung Life Insurance) and Lee So-hee, each winning a silver medal. In the Asian mixed team event, which was her last experimental stage, she teamed up with Lee So-hee, a senior player, and helped her win the runner-up. It was confirmed that Lee So-hee’s strength is maximized when she uses her height and speed to increase her attack power and add one hundred stable power.
Coach Kim, who led the junior national team, said, “I’ve been watching Baek Ha-na since I was little. In the meantime, she was an unfinished stand-by that was not well known, but she is slowly growing enough to bloom.” suitable person,” he said.
The national team plans to have Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, along with Kim Ga-eun (25, Samsung Life Insurance) in the women’s singles, ‘uniquely’ participate in all four tournaments on this European tour. It is for a ‘short-term plan’ to raise Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, who are currently ranked 32nd in the world, to the top 10.
Currently, most of the national team players belong to prestigious businesses such as Samsung Life Insurance and Incheon International Airport, but Baek Hana is a signboard and valuable future resource of the ‘underdog’ MG Saemaul Geumgo (Chairman Park Cha-hoon). Attention is focusing on whether she will bloom as a new ‘flower’ of women’s doubles.
On the other hand, Baek Hana’s team, MG Saemaul Geumgo, is a latecomer in its 10th year of establishment, but it also achieved the feat of advancing to the playoffs for both men and women in the ‘Passion Korea Badminton League’ held in Korea.