Gil Young-ah, the coach of Samsung Life Insurance’s badminton team (right), is giving a thumbs up to Ahn Se-young’s signboard. Ahn Se-young is challenging for the gold medal in the women’s singles at the Paris Olympics. Reporter Lee Heon-jae
Participating in the Olympics is the dream of every amateur athlete. An Olympic medal is a gift given only to a few athletes. In particular, an Olympic gold medal is literally a gift from heaven.
In that sense, Gil Young-ah (54), the Samsung Life Insurance badminton team coach and ‘Badminton Legend’, had her best playing days. She was known as the ‘Queen of Doubles’ and dominated an era, winning a bronze medal in the women’s doubles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Four years later, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, she won a silver medal in the women’s doubles and a gold medal in the mixed doubles. She is one of the few players who completed a ‘gold, silver, and bronze collection’ at the Olympics, the world’s greatest stage.
Ever since he started playing badminton, his goal has been an Olympic gold medal. The Olympic gold medal, which seemed so far away, came in the mixed doubles event at the Atlanta Olympics, which was his last match on the international stage.
Initially, the gold medal was likely to go to the women’s doubles team with Jang Hye-ok. However, they were completely defeated in the final against China without even showing any strength. Coach Gil said, “I couldn’t sleep at all the night before because I wanted the gold medal so badly. I couldn’t move my feet well because of the pressure going into the match.” It was such a disappointing match that the Gil Young-ah-Jang Hye-ok team shed tears even after winning the silver medal.
The pair of Gil Young-ah and Kim Dong-moon defied everyone’s expectations and won the mixed doubles title at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Dong-A Ilbo DB
The mixed doubles with Kim Dong-moon was originally a ‘discarded card’. Coach Gil competed in two events, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, but the coaching staff decided to focus on women’s doubles, which had a higher chance of winning a medal, because physical strength could be lacking. Furthermore, the Park Joo-bong-Na Kyung-min pair, who were the strongest at the time, were holding out in the mixed doubles.
The first and second rounds of the mixed doubles, where they played comfortably to get used to the court, were almost a no-brainer. Now, no one would say anything if they were eliminated. However, along with the women’s singles match by Bang Soo-hyun, the mixed main match was broadcast live on Korean TV. Now, they had no choice but to play desperately. It was what Gil Young-ah and Kim Dong-moon had hoped for. After the quarterfinals and semifinals, they faced the Park Joo-bong-Na Kyung-min pair in the finals.
The Gil Young-ah-Kim Dong-moon team, who had nothing to lose anyway, felt light. The Park Joo-bong-Na Kyung-min team, who had the gold medal in sight, felt nervous. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the winner was the Gil Young-ah-Kim Dong-moon team. Coach Gil smiled and said, “I was satisfied with two silver medals. However, winning the gold medal in the last match as a national team was a true ‘happy ending.'”
Gil Young-ah (right) and Jang Hye-ok play in the women’s doubles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Dong-A Ilbo DB
There were no physical problems that I was worried about at all. This is because I trained more than anyone else in physical strength, following the belief that “all court skills come from physical strength.”
After being selected as a national team member in high school, the badminton team, including him, underwent intense physical training at the Jinhae Athletes’ Village in Gyeongnam. The main training included the hellish super circuit, running up mountains, and running on white sand beaches. Coach Gil said, “It was so hard that I wanted to crush all the mountains and dig up all the sand on the beach.”
At that time, badminton was not a very well-known sport. If you took a taxi with a badminton racket, the driver would joke, “What kind of sport is this with a fly swatter?”
However, to do well in badminton, which is a full-body exercise, you need to be good at speed, agility, endurance, and brain play. He said, “Everyone has a hard time when they exercise. However, there is nothing more rewarding than getting up again when you want to rest and winning the battle with yourself.” He added, “Bang Soo-hyun (who won the singles gold medal) and I were the same. People around us said, ‘You’re crazy,’ when they saw us exercising without resting even on weekends. However, we had a clear goal of winning the Olympic gold medal.”
Director Gil Young-ah (left) took a selfie with her daughter A-young and son Won-ho. Kim Won-ho is challenging for a hat Olympic medal at the Paris Olympics. Courtesy of Director Gil Young-ah
He was more passionate about sports than anyone else, and he started his coaching career at Samsung Electronics in 1998 and has been active ever since. After working as a trainer for 9 years and as a coach for 5 years, he took on the role of head coach of the women’s team in 2011. In 2015, he was promoted to general manager, becoming the first female coach in Korean badminton history to coach a men’s team.
He was destined to be the team’s coach since the team was founded. The position of trainer, who started his coaching career, was originally non-existent, but was newly created for him. Although he was a trainer in name only, his role was to actually plan the training schedule and conduct the training. Having successfully led the team for nearly 30 years, he said, “If it was physically difficult as a player, the responsibility is heavy as a coach. I think I’ve come this far because I’ve steadily pursued the competition in front of me year after year.” He added, “In fact, there have to be good players to have good coaches. I’m so grateful to our players.”
Director Gil Young-ah’s daily life. Courtesy of Director Gil Young-ah
The Korean badminton team will have 12 players competing in the Paris Olympics, which opens on the 26th (local time). Five of them belong to Samsung Life Insurance, which he coaches. Ahn Se-young (22), who is aiming for a gold medal in the women’s singles, is also one of his students.
Coach Gil said, “When I see (Ahn) Se-young, I feel both sad and proud. Unlike other players, she is a player who tries to overcome her limits,” and “No matter how much I tell her to rest, she doesn’t rest. She goes out at dawn and even does nighttime exercises on her own. A player like this really needs to do well.”
His biological son, Kim Won-ho (25), will also compete in the Olympics. He will team up with Jeong Na-eun (Hwasun County Office) and challenge for a medal in the mixed doubles at the mother-child Olympics. Coach Gil said, “I didn’t want my son to play sports. But when he came to the gym and tried playing badminton, he really enjoyed it. He ended up becoming an athlete,” and added, “I hope he does his best and gets good results at the Olympics.” Kim Won-ho won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. His daughter, Kim A-young (23), also plays badminton for Siheung-gu Office.
Taking a commemorative photo with players coached by Coach Gil Young-ah. Courtesy of Coach Gil Young-ah
When he first became a coach, Coach Gil played with the players. They trained together and breathed together, passing the shuttlecock back and forth.
However, since I took over as coach, we no longer train together. It would be more accurate to say that I can’t do it. Since I exercised excessively since I was young, my knees and ankles are not in good condition. He said, “I can’t run while playing badminton like I used to. These days, the players walk lightly when they warm up.”
The sport he found to do to get out of breath is swimming. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he went to the pool to try to recover his weakened physical strength. He said, “I started with a beginner class. The more I did it, the more fun it became, and after about a year, I was able to do all four events: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.” He added, “I personally think swimming is an exercise that I should do for the rest of my life. It’s an exercise that makes me gasp for breath without putting too much strain on my joints.”
Thanks to learning how to swim when he was nearly 50, he was able to accomplish one thing on his bucket list. He was able to enjoy swimming in hotel pools overseas. He said, “When I was a player or coach, I would go to international competitions and see Chinese players swimming in hotels,” and “I was so envious of that, but thanks to learning how to swim, even if only for a short time, I was able to enjoy swimming in hotels.” He is currently taking a break, but he plans to go to the pool again after the Paris Olympics.
Coach Gil Young-ah took a picture at the airport with her son Kim Won-ho, who won a silver medal at the Hangjeong-u Asian Games last year. Dong-A Ilbo DB
Having lived with badminton for over 40 years as a player and coach, he is now preparing for a beautiful ending. When the time comes to retire, there are so many things he wants to do. He said, “First, I think I will travel a bit. After that, I want to try hobbies I haven’t been able to do before. I also want to study English and Chinese.” He also said, “I want to learn exercises that are not too hard on the body, like Pilates. I am also thinking about getting a barista license.”
But his last dream is to build a badminton-only gym. He said, “I don’t know if it will come true, but I want to build a gym for people who like badminton,” and smiled, “When my son and daughter finish their careers as players and retire, they will be able to help me as coaches and such.”
Director Gil Young-ah shows off her lucky four-leaf clover ring. Reporter Lee Heon-jae
Badminton is one of the most popular sports for amateurs in Korea. Coach Gil emphasized the importance of warm-up and cool-down exercises to amateurs. He said, “Badminton is an easy sport to play, but it requires intense physical movement. Many people play without warming up, which can lead to serious injuries. It is also good to do cool-down exercises after the game.”
For beginners, he advised taking lessons and playing with a partner. He said, “Without the basics, your skills won’t improve. I definitely recommend taking lessons,” and “If possible, it’s better to play with someone you like. If you go to a club alone when you’re not good enough, it’s not easy to get along with others. I hope more people can experience the fun of badminton.”
Reporter Lee Heon-jae uni@donga.com
2024-07-15 03:06:23
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