▲ Kim So-young (right) and Gong Hee-yong ⓒ Korea Badminton Association
[스포티비뉴스=조영준 기자] Badminton Korea won the World Badminton Federation (BWF) Korea Masters three events held in Korea.
The women’s doubles final was played against Korean players. Kim So-young (30, Incheon International Airport) and Gong Hee-yong (26, Jeonbuk Bank), called ‘King Kong Joe’, competed in the 2022 BWF Super 300 Series Gwangju Yonex Korea Masters Women’s Doubles Final held at Gwangju Women’s University Gymnasium in Gwangju on the 17th. 22, MG Saemaul Geumgo)-Lee Yu-rim (22, Samsung Life Insurance) defeated the group 2-0 (21-17 21-12) to win the championship.
Team Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong, the bronze medalists at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, were canceled from participating in the Korea Open last week after being diagnosed with the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong, the winners of the 2019 Korea Open, missed the opportunity to lose their second straight title. However, as he became the top of the Korea Masters this time, he brushed off his disappointment.
Hana Baek and Yurim Lee defeated China’s Duwe and Li Wenmei in the semifinals the previous day 2-1 (21-18 19-21 21-17). After a long battle of 1 hour and 50 minutes, they struggled with physical problems in the final.
▲ Hana Baek (right) and Lee Yu-rim ⓒ Korea Badminton Association
In the first set 6-6, Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong scored in a row and surpassed 10 points first. The group Hana Baek and Yurim Lee pursued 11-12, but allowed consecutive runs due to Gong Hee-yong’s strong smashing.
When Gong Hee-yong attacked with powerful smashing from the back, Kim So-young shook the opponent’s defense with a sophisticated drop shot from the front. Hana Baek and Lee Yu-rim could not find a solution in defense due to the non-stop opposing attacks.
Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong, who widened the score by 19-15, won the first set 21-17.
Ha-na Baek and Yu-rim Lee played an equal match until 5-5 in the second set. However, consecutive offenses were poured out in the wave attack of Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong. Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong, who fled 9-5, overwhelmed their opponents in defense as well as offense.
Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong, who did not lose the lead throughout the game, won the second set 21-12 to win the gold medal.
▲ Kim Ki-jung (left) and Kim Sa-rang at the 2014 Indonesian Open
In the men’s doubles final, Kim Ki-jeong (32, Dangjin City Hall) and Kim Sa-rang (31, Miryang City Hall) took the top spot by defeating China’s Liu Youchen-Oushuan 2-0 (21-14 21-16).
Kim Ki-jung and Kim Sa-rang competed as individuals after retiring from the national team. In particular, in the quarterfinals, last week’s Korea Open winners Kang Min-hyuk (23, Samsung Life Insurance) and Seo Seung-jae (25, Armed Forces Athletic Corps) defeated 2-0 (21-19 21-13).
Although they returned the Taegeuk mark, Kim Ki-jung and Kim Sa-rang showed off their rust-free skills and won the gold medal.
Jeon Hyuk-jin (27, Yonex), who participated in the men’s singles final held earlier, beat Naraoka Kodai (Japan, world No. 47) 2-0 (21-17 21-16).
Jeon Hyuk-jin won this competition in 2017. He once played as a sign for the Korean men’s badminton, but was on a two-year hiatus due to an injury.
▲ Jeon Hyuk-jin ⓒKorea Badminton Association
After not participating in international competitions for a while, he fell to 995th in the world rankings. However, he won the Korea Masters this time and spread his wings of resurrection.
Korea Badminton won the Korea Open last week in three events: men’s doubles and women’s singles. At the Korea Masters, they won gold medals in men’s doubles and men’s singles, swept three out of five events.
Korean players performed well on the BWF Badminton World Tour held for two weeks in Korea, revealing their prospects for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
After the Korea Series, the BWF World Tour will be held on the 8th of next month, moving to Bangkok, Thailand.
Meanwhile, SPOTV and SPOTV NOW broadcast the BWF World Tour. It will also be broadcast live on SPOTV ASIA. Sporty Asia is a channel that is broadcast to 13 countries in Southeast Asia, motorcycle racing competitions MotoGP (GP), WTT (World Table Tennis) table tennis competition, BWF (World Badminton Federation) badminton competition International Sports Climbing (IFSC) Sports Climbing World Cup Various contents are provided.
