“Second place is always disappointing, but now we have to look to the Asian Games and the Olympics.”
Coming off a silver medal at the 2023 World Mixed Team Badminton Championships in Sudirman, Korea’s biggest strength is the women’s doubles. Baek Ha-na (23¤MG Saemaul Bank) and Lee So-hee (29-Incheon International Airport-World No. 6), Kim So-young (31-Incheon International Airport) and Gong Hee-yong (27-Jeonbuk Bank), Jung Na-eun (23-Hwasun County Office) and Kim Hye-jung (25-Samsung Life), and Shin Seung-chan (29-Incheon International Airport) and Lee Yoo-rim (23-Samsung Life) all have their own distinct colors and are highly competitive internationally.
The national team has a lot to look forward to in the women’s doubles. At the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games in September, the team will compete in the women’s doubles as well as the team event, where they will be looking to avenge the disappointment of the 2018 Jakarta and Palembang Games. At Paris 2024, the women’s singles event will be her main focus, with Ahn Se-young (21¤Samsung Life Insurance¤Ranked 2nd) going for gold.
In women’s doubles, the most promising pairing is undoubtedly Baek Hana and Lee So-hee. While Tokyo 2020 bronze medalists Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong are still going strong, and Jung Na-eun and Kim Hye-jung have also risen to the top of the rankings in a short period of time since forming in November 2021, Baek Hana and Lee So-hee have the edge in terms of recent pace and motivation. Each country can only send a maximum of eight players to the Paris Olympics메이저사이트, and the Korean national team traditionally sends only two women’s doubles teams to the Games, so internal competition is expected to be fierce.
In a recent interview with SportsDongA, Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee said, “We worked together for the first time in October last year and were able to maximize each other’s strengths and offset each other’s weaknesses. “We have a lot to learn from each other outside of our senior-sophomore relationship.” While complementing each other, they are also preparing for future exposure.
Coincidentally, both Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee parted ways with their previous partners, Dong Yoo Rim and Shin Seung Chan. Baek Ha-Na, Lee Yoo-Rim, and Lee So-Hee-Shin had all won gold in the women’s doubles at the World Junior Championships as high school sophomores, and had been together for a long time. Last year, however, the team switched partners in an effort to improve their competitiveness in major international events independent of their world ranking. So far, Baek Hana’s cohesive all-around play and Lee So-hee’s use of her height have been deemed a success, with one gold, five silver, and three bronze medals.
Credibility within the national team. “After the second match of Group D at the Sudirman Cup, (Kim) So-young suffered a right ankle injury and (Kim) Hye-jung had a bad cold among the women’s doubles resources,” said Kim Hak-gyun, 52. “In the worst case scenario, we thought about playing the two most fit players regardless of the existing group,” said Kim, “but we had a lot of faith in (Baek) Ha and (Lee) Sohee. “But I had a lot of faith in (Baek) and (Lee), who have made a lot of dynamic changes to their static form and are the best in the national team in terms of breathing and recent performances.
Living up to their coach’s expectations, Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee led the team to a 2-0 (21-13 21-18) set victory over Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota (No. 9) in their final Group D match against Japan to complete a 5-0 sweep. The duo will now look to bring their competitive edge from major international events to Hangzhou and Paris.
Both Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee will be eager to redeem themselves at this year’s Hangzhou Games, as they were part of the team that lost the gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Baek Ha-na will be competing in her first Olympic Games, while Lee So-hee is desperate for a medal after finishing eighth and fourth at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics, respectively, where she competed alongside her senior (Jang Yena) and teammate (Shin Seung-chan). That’s why they’re eager to see how their new partners will perform in Hangzhou and Paris.
“We know that the competition within and outside the national team is fierce,” says Baek Hana. However, I am confident that our group has many more advantages than the others,” she said, adding, “I hope to bring a medal to my sister (Sohee) in Paris, which will be her third Olympic Games.” “We have many strengths, such as the offensive power of Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong, the drive of Jung Na-eun and Kim Hye-jung, and the defense of the (back) one,” Lee So-hee said, adding, “I am grateful that many people have shown interest and expectation in our group. We are eagerly preparing to win medals at the Asian Games and the Olympic Games.”