On the 5th (local time), Korea’s Ahn Se-young is playing against China’s He Bingzhao in the final of the women’s singles badminton event at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, France. Photo = Yonhap News Ahn Se-young (22, Samsung Life Insurance), the gold medalist in the women’s singles badminton event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, openly expressed her dissatisfaction with the Korea Badminton Association. She caused shock by saying that her driving force from when she was first selected for the national team in 2018 until she won the Olympic gold medal was “anger.”
An Se-young made a surprising statement at a press conference after the game on the 5th (local time), saying, “The injury was more serious than I thought. I was very disappointed in the national team for being too complacent.” She continued, “I also thought that it might be difficult to continue playing with the national team after this moment.”
He said, “I don’t think leaving the national team means you can’t play in the Olympics. In badminton, singles and doubles are completely different. I don’t think you should be stripped of your player status. But our association is blocking everything. They’re being very negligent in the name of freedom.”
After the game, when her comments were given major coverage, Ahn Se-young once again took to social media to say, “I wanted to talk about player management, but I was hurt once again by articles from the association and the coach who unintentionally passed the buck.” She said, “It’s not because I’m good, but I wanted to talk about how players need to be protected and managed, and about communication rather than power, but it’s unfortunate that it’s being reproduced as sensational articles again.”
He then added, “Please do not misinterpret it as retirement,” and “I hope you will think about the stories I want to tell and find a solution.” On the 5th (local time), during the women’s singles final of the 2024 Paris Olympic badminton held at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, France, Korea’s An Se-young collapses and looks distressed during a match against China’s He Bingzhao. Photo = Yonhap News
◆ Ahn Se-young criticizes the determination to “develop players systematically”
In an interview with Yonhap News, Ahn Se-young said about the association’s problems, “I hope they systematically develop players well,” and “They should not just tell players, ‘This is your chance,’ but also manage them while giving them consistent opportunities.”
When asked when she started preparing for her ‘statement of determination’, Ahn Se-young said, “It was in 2018 when I first wore the Taegeuk mark,” and emphasized, “My anger was the driving force behind me setting goals and achieving my dreams. I wanted to raise my voice.”
He continued, “I think singles and doubles are completely different and should be practiced under different systems,” adding, “First of all, the managers and coaches should be separated, and the training methods should be systematically separated.”
He then pointed out, “Singles players have different styles, but I think it’s difficult to pursue them in only one direction,” and “double players have always performed better, so doubles players have been given priority in treatment and training.”
An Se-young expressed her regret, saying, “Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan) brought two trainers and one coach, and Chen Yu-fei (China) also brought two trainers this time.”
The Korea Badminton Association’s unilateral decision-making was also criticized.
Ahn Se-young said, “I missed the French Open and the Denmark Open, but it was against my will and there was no explanation,” and added, “The association removed me (from the list) without sufficient explanation or communication.” Ahn Se-young of Korea sheds tears in front of her coach and manager after winning the gold medal in the women’s singles final of the 2024 Paris Olympics badminton held at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris, France on the 5th (local time). Photo = Yonhap News
◆ In the past, players were suspended for one year due to mistakes made by the association.
After Ahn Se-young’s criticism, the badminton association’s hasty management and neglect of players have once again come under fire.
In 2014, Lee Yong-dae and Kim Ki-jung, who were then badminton star players, were suspended for one year by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for violating the regulations on drug testing due to the association’s mistake.
This is because they failed to attend the surprise doping test. Lee Yong-dae and Kim Ki-jung stayed at a location other than Taereung Athletes’ Village, which was the location entered by the association in the related system (ADAMS), when WADA inspectors visited Korea twice in 2013, and were unable to undergo doping tests. This included the association missing the entry period.
Eventually, the association appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), explaining that it was an administrative procedure and not a player’s fault. The BWF decided to re-examine the case and overturned the one-year suspension of the two players, and imposed a fine of $40,000 (approximately 54.8 million won) on the association.
◆ Players fly economy class, but executives fly business class
According to the budget prepared by the Badminton Association for the World Championships held in China in July 2018, six players participated, but eight officials followed them. It was also revealed that the coaches and players flew economy class, while all the officials flew business class.
In May 2017, during the Australian tournament, five executives traveled in business class at a cost of over 16 million won, but returned home early after the quarterfinals, saying, “It will be difficult to win given our current strength.”
As a result, only the coaches and players remained and after playing the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, they reached the top after 14 years. However, since the association executives were not present, no one saw this scene.
◆ ‘National Team Excluded’ Jeong Kyung-eun, Suspicions Raised About the Selection Process Reexamined
In 2021, a controversy arose when an active player raised suspicions of fraud regarding the national badminton team selection. Jung Kyung-eun, a bronze medalist in the women’s doubles at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, posted a petition on the Blue House National Petition Bulletin Board titled, “Please investigate the suspicions regarding the judging of the 2021 national badminton team selection.”
The Korea Badminton Association automatically selected the top players in the world at the time (top 8 in doubles) and selected the final 12 players through the selection match results (50%) and the evaluation committee’s scoring (50%).
Jeong Kyung-eun, who is currently ranked 10th in the world, was eliminated with 9 wins and 4 losses. Jeong Kyung-eun was the only one among the top ranked players in the world who did not wear the Taegeuk mark.
Jeong Gyeong-eun took issue with the fact that a player with a lower score than her was selected by the evaluation committee after receiving a higher score. In fact, it was revealed that another player with a record of 7 wins and 7 losses was selected by the evaluation committee over Jeong Gyeong-eun.
Jeong Gyeong-eun criticized the system, saying, “It is a selection system in which the evaluation committee can easily cheat and manipulate even if the winning percentage is high because they do not know the criteria and detailed items for the evaluation score (50%).” She also criticized the system, saying, “It is a selection system in the dark where the participating players have to compete in the selection match without knowing the selection criteria other than their own winning percentage.”
While criticism of the Badminton Association as a ‘destruction’ is growing stronger (only waves of ghost stories are coming out), the Association has yet to make an official statement.
Yimina Hankyung.com reporter [email protected]
2024-08-06 05:27:39
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