Return to the throne after winning the King of Kings… “I’m glad I made up for my sluggish performance.”
“I feel more responsibility as a veteran… My goal is to win the World Championships.”
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The pair of Lee So-hee and Baek Hana (left) returned after winning the HSBC Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2024 Women’s Doubles. 2024.12.16/News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Daehyun Moon |
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(Incheon Airport = News 1) Reporter Dae-Hyeon Moon = The national badminton team’s women’s doubles ‘signature’ Lee So-hee (30, Incheon International Airport) and Baek Hana (24, MG Saemaeul Geumgo) returned home after winning the King of Kings Tournament, where only top ranked players compete.
Those who have beautifully celebrated the end of 2024 will take a short break and prepare again for next year. Regarding the appointment of the next national team coach, which has been a recent issue, he said, “I hope you will create conditions where I can focus on sports.”
World No. 2 Lee So-hee and Baek Hana beat No. 4 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida (Japan) 2-0 (21-19 21-14) in the finals of the tournament held in Hangzhou, China on the 15th.
This competition is the final stage of the BWF international competition held throughout the year, and eight top-ranked players (teams) from five categories, including men’s and women’s singles and mixed doubles, participated.
Earlier, while Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance) lost to Wang Zhiyi (China) in the women’s singles semifinals and ended up taking bronze, Lee So-hee and Baek Hana saved Korea’s pride.
Lee So-hee and Baek Hana, who met on the 16th when they returned to Korea, said in unison, “It is an honor just to participate in the world tour, and I am happy to win. I am happy that I have finished the year 2024 well.”
Lee So-hee and Baek Hana, formed in October 2022, are a combination that won several international competitions in 2023 and rose to second place in the world rankings.
He also contributed to winning the gold medal by defeating the world’s No. 1 pair, Chen Qingtian and Jaipan (China), in the team event at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. Although they did not surpass Chen Qingchen and Zhaifan in the individual finals, their fighting performance was impressive.
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Lee So-hee and Baek Hana are leaving the stadium after losing to China’s Chen Qingchen and Zhaipan in the badminton women’s doubles final match at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held at the Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on the 7th. 2023.10.7/News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Shin Woong-soo |
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They were naturally mentioned as candidates for the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, but lost 0-2 (9-21 13-21) to China’s Ryu Seong-su and Tanning (world’s third ranked team) in the quarterfinals. After failing to achieve outstanding results in international competitions, he made a turnaround this time. Lee So-hee said, “I had a lot of expectations for the Olympics, but the results were disappointing. I think the disappointment was still lingering in my mind, so I performed poorly throughout the second half of the year. But I think time has resolved the issue. Now, I have no regrets about the Olympics.”
He continued, “Now that we are part of the experienced team on the national team, we feel a sense of responsibility and pressure. I think we need to lead the Korean women’s doubles team well so that they can all reach the top rankings.”
Baek Hana said, “I am disappointed that I did not reach my goal, but I also felt relieved that the Olympics, which I had worked so hard to prepare for, were over. It was a year that made good memories in many ways. I feel that my chemistry with (Lee) Sohee is getting better. It will be for a while now.” “I want to rest and recover,” he said with a smile.
He also emphasized, “I have never won a medal at a World Championship while playing doubles with Sohee, but I will prepare with the goal of winning a World Championship medal next year.”
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Baek Ha-na (left) and Lee So-hee of the women’s badminton team are showing off their All England Open women’s doubles gold medal after returning to Korea through Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the afternoon of the 19th. 2024.3.19/News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Jang Soo-young |
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Meanwhile, the badminton world has recently been experiencing internal strife. The Badminton Association notified coach Kim Hak-gyun (53), who led the national team for the past two years, that his contract could not be renewed, but coach Kim objected to this, creating a stir. Coach Kim did not participate in this tournament even though his contract period was still remaining.
But the players were resolute. Sohee Lee said, “The coach didn’t come, but there was no big problem in playing the game because the coaches in charge of each sport came.”
When asked what type of leader he would like to have as the national team coach, he carefully answered, “I think all players will have the same thoughts, but I hope we can create an environment where they can focus on sports rather than anything else.”
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