‘Badminton Queen’ Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), who criticized the Korean Badminton Association and the management of the national team immediately after winning the women’s singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics last August. With so many changes taking place since then, will Ahn Se-young be able to smile brightly again at the award ceremony hosted by the association?
Ahn Se-young completely defeated Gao Fangjie (China) in the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 China Masters held in Shenzhen, China on the 24th to reach the top. After finishing second at the Denmark Open last month, which was her return to the international stage after the Paris Olympics, she is now at the top again.
After the Paris Olympics, there was a big stir in Korean badminton. Due to Ahn Se-young’s so-called bombshell remarks, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched an investigation into the association and issued a correction order for irrational administration. It also recommended eliminating the bad habits of the national team and allowing individual sponsorship, while also recommending the dismissal of association president Taek-gyu Kim and severe disciplinary action against officials.
Accordingly, the association also expressed its commitment to improvement. The association issued a press release on the 23rd, saying, “We conducted interviews with national team players, held briefing sessions, actively collected opinions, and revised some of the absurd national team operation guidelines.” “We are coordinating opinions by holding three meetings to change the contract provisions to reflect this,” he said.
Meanwhile, the association will hold an award ceremony for the national team on the 30th at the Arena Hotel in Miryang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. The explanation is that the ‘Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Competition’ is being held in Miryang and the strengthening training schedule for the national team, which concludes on this day, has been adjusted.
The association will give 100 million won to Ahn Se-young, who won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, and 50 million won each to Kim Won-ho (Samsung Life Insurance) and Jeong Na-eun (Hwasun County Office), who jointly won the silver medal in mixed doubles. Including this, a reward of 300 million won will be paid to the entire team.
However, it has not been decided whether Ahn Se-young will attend. An association official said, “We are coordinating opinions with Ahn Se-young’s side.” The association hopes for Ahn Se-young’s attendance as she is the main character who brought Korean badminton its first gold medal in 16 years since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ahn Se-young attended the award ceremony in December last year. Last year, Ahn Se-young had the best season, sweeping the most prestigious All England Open, World Championships, and Hangzhou Asian Games, and being named BWF Female Player of the Year. Nevertheless, in an interview at the awards ceremony at the time, Ahn Se-young said, “I want to give myself 70 points this season” after losing in the semifinals of the BWF World Tour Finals, which was a king of the season, and strengthened her resolve, saying, “I will make up the remaining 30 points with a gold medal at next year’s Olympics.”
One year later, Ahn Se-young fulfilled her promise. By achieving her biggest goal, an Olympic gold medal, she earned 30 points, which she was unable to achieve last year.
However, there were many twists and turns after the Paris Olympics. Amid the backlash related to comments about the association and the national team, rumors of discord were also raised, with an awkward atmosphere detected between the coaching staff, including Ahn Se-young and coach Kim Hak-kyun, at the time of the Denmark Open. Of course, at the China Masters, Ahn Se-young showed active communication with coaches Ronnie Agustinus and Seong Ji-hyun.
It was initially reported that Ahn Se-young had complained about the reward money last year to the association. It was pointed out that the prize money that Ahn Se-young received last year was 13 million won, which was less than that of other sports.
However, it appears that Ahn Se-young’s opinion has been reflected to some extent as this year’s prize money for winning the Olympic gold medal has increased to 100 million won. If Ahn Se-young attends the award ceremony, it could be the beginning of resolving the conflict with the association.
Ahn Se-young smiled brightly at last year’s award ceremony and confidently expressed her aspirations for next year. One year later, having won the Olympic gold medal that you had so desperately wanted, will you be able to reveal your thoughts and future plans at this year’s award ceremony?
