Badminton national team coach Lee Kyung-won narrowly missed out on the gold medal in both Olympics. However, she is determined to become an Olympic gold medalist coach by leading Kim So-young-Gong Hee-yong and Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee well. Reporter Kwon Jae-min, Jincheon | [email protected]
“I think I will shed a lot of tears when I see my students wearing Olympic gold medals around their necks.”
For Lee Gyeong-won (43), the women’s doubles coach of the national badminton team, winning an Olympic gold medal is something he has never been able to achieve in his life. She, along with Ra Gyeong-min and Lee Hyo-jeong, respectively, won bronze and silver medals in women’s doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but failed to get past China both times.
Even he himself regrets it to the point where he says, “I went into every competition with a sense of longing and fear, but the results did not follow. Fear is not ‘not being afraid’ but ‘something to overcome even if you are afraid.’” Since this was the closest they came to the top since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics women’s doubles gold medalists Hwang Hye-young and Jung So-young, the two failures remain as even more bitter memories.
However, although I could not become a ‘gold medalist athlete’, I am confident that I can become a ‘gold medalist leader’. ‘Kim Kongjo’ Kim So-young (32, Incheon International Airport), Gong Hee-yong (28, Jeonbuk Bank, 7th in the world rankings), who have been through hardships and hardships with him over the past few years, and ‘White Wall’ Baek Ha-na (24, MG Saemaul Geumgo) and Lee So-hee (24, MG Saemaul Geumgo). This is because it is believed that (30th, Incheon International Airport, 2nd place) will stand on the highest podium at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The national badminton team’s Kim So-young (left) and Kong Hee-yong are determined to go beyond the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and bring home a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Reporter Kwon Jae-min, Jincheon | [email protected]
The bronze medalists of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Kim So-young-Gong Hee-yong and Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee, have been competing in good faith. As Coach Lee said, “Although their styles are different, they are a combination that has both the delicacy that I emphasize and strong attacking power,” Kim So-young and Baek Ha-na dominate the court with their agile defense, while Kong Hee-yong and Lee So-hee, who have the power, have made a name for themselves on the world stage by scoring at the right time.
This coach is confident that Kim So-young-Gong Hee-yong and Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee will meet in the Olympic finals. He is sweating bullets with the two groups every day to defeat Chen Qing-cheon-Zai Fan (China, No. 1), led by former national team coach Kang Kyung-jin. In the head-to-head record with Chen Qing-cheon-Zai Fan, Kim So-young-Gong Hee-yong have 5 wins and 11 losses, while Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee has 3 wins and 5 losses, but since their recent performances have been equal, he believes that they have a chance of winning.
The teams of Kim So-young and Gong Hee-yong and Baek Hana and Lee So-hee also pledge to relieve Coach Lee’s resentment. Because each person’s story is different, we promised friendly competition. The pair of Kim So-young and Kong Hee-yong, who only got their first opportunity at the Tokyo Olympics after being pushed out by prominent seniors such as Jang Ye-na, Jeong Kyeong-eun, and Kim Hana, are determined to not only win medals in two consecutive competitions but also win a gold medal.
Kim So-young said, “I approached the Tokyo Olympics with the determination that it would be my first and last Olympics, and now, three years later, I am honored to be able to challenge again. “I feel like the people’s expectations have grown even more, so my motivation is greater than ever,” he said emphatically. Gong Hee-yong also said, “I’m so happy to be able to participate in the Olympics one more time with (Kim) So-young. “As Coach Lee said, our primary goal is to meet each other in the finals,” he said. “I will approach every game, starting from the preliminaries, with the determination that it will always be the last game.” “In the past, we were pushed out of the Olympics by our seniors, but we were able to learn and grow a lot during that time, so we will deliver a lot of messages to our juniors,” he pledged.
The national badminton team’s Baek Hana (left) and Lee Sohee pair are strong gold medal candidates in the women’s doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Jincheon｜Reporter Kwon Jae-min [email protected]
Lee So-hee, who is competing in her third Olympics, is also preparing for Paris with determination. She competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with her senior (Jang Ye-na) and in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with her classmate (Shin Seung-chan), but they each finished in the quarterfinals and fourth place, falling short of medals. She is determined to win a medal at the Paris Olympics with her junior Baek Ha-na.
Lee So-hee said, “I endured the past eight years with the attitude of a true believer. But I was able to compete in the Olympics three times because I endured, and if I endure like I am now, I will be able to laugh in the end,” and emphasized, “Regardless of the Chinese athletes’ performance, what’s important is for us to endure well. If we endure well, a good opportunity will come.” Baek Ha-na added, “The pressure will be just as great for our opponents. I will follow (Lee) So-hee around and help her,” and added, “In fact, just a few months ago, I was more excited, but now I am also worried. I will clear my head and head to Paris with only gratitude.”
The coach listened to his students’ declarations of war with a pleased expression. He said, “The Kim So-young-Gong Hee-yong pair and the Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee pair are both the best combinations in Korean badminton history. Their strength, speed, game management, and defense are all better than the previous generation.” He added, “I believe my students will surpass me. Even now, when I hear the word ‘gold medal,’ I feel like crying, but if my students actually wear gold medals around their necks, I think I will burst into tears.”
Reporter Kwon Jae-min [email protected] See more of this reporter’s articles
2024-06-30 08:39:27
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