Korean badminton was in a whirlwind due to the "bomb remarks" that came right after Ahn Se-young won the gold medal in women's singles at the Paris Olympics in August last year. As the Badminton Korea Association has long maintained unreasonable practices, systems and regulations, including "no personal sponsorship of rackets and shoes" for national team players, the association's executive, including Chairman Kim Taek-kyu, has been criticized by the government, the National Assembly and the media.
The Korean badminton scene, which had been recognized as the world's top badminton powerhouse, has become a "suck-in-the-wall field" overnight amid criticism over the bad practices of the badminton community that had existed since before Chairman Kim Taek-kyu. For this reason, Ahn Se-young, who won a valuable Olympic gold medal to the Korean shuttlecock for the first time in 16 years after Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung's mixed doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had to spend a day of anguish amid fans' support and some internal criticism, rather than receiving congratulations. Seven months later, how is the situation unfolding now.
The lawsuit to confirm the invalidity of the former chairman's election is still in disarray
In conclusion, as time progressed and the association's leadership changed through the new presidential election, Korean badminton is again seeking a path to normalization. The current Korean badminton situation can be summarized into two trends.
First of all, it is noteworthy that Korean players, led by Ahn Se-young, are enjoying a new heyday by making stellar performances in the BWF World Tour early in the 2025 season. On the other hand, the Badminton Korea Association under the new chairman Kim Dong-moon (50) who resigned after his term expired and was elected as the 32nd chairman on Jan. 23 and even approved by the Korea Sports Council is still slow to normalize the badminton scene. There are many factors of instability inherent in it.
In particular, former chairman Kim Taek-kyu is putting the association in a embarrassing situation by filing a lawsuit to confirm the suspension of Kim Dong-moon's duties and invalidity of his election with the Seoul Eastern District Court on Feb. 13 to the effect that the presidential election was held unfairly unilaterally. Chairman Kim Dong-moon is seeking to stabilize and reform the association's administration by using a new executive branch, appointing four new vice chairmen (including Daedeok University professor Kim Min-sup and other professors) and appointing Lim Bang-eon as executive director of the association's articles of association. Despite these efforts, Chairman Kim is reportedly waiting for the court's decision, which is expected to come out sometime in April.
As national team players are demanding individual sponsorship, the association has to adjust some of its main sponsorship contracts with Yonex, but it is not easy. "For Chairman Kim Dong-moon, it is a new beginning, so there are a number of problems to be solved," an association official said.
Despite this, Ahn Se-young (aged 23, Samsung Life Insurance) showed off her strong performance by winning all four BWF World Tour competitions she has participated in this year. She is on the verge of collapse for 20 consecutive years. She has already pocketed hundreds of millions of won (hundreds of millions of dollars) in prize money by winning the "Super 1000" series Malaysia Open (January) and the Jeon Young Open (March), the "Super 750" series, the Indian Open (January) and the "Super 300" series in France. The Malaysian Open has a prize money of 91,000 dollars (133 million won) in women's singles.
Nevertheless, the biggest challenge for Ahn is to overcome the leg injury that has plagued him since the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. Notably, he almost failed to win the title at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games due to his right thigh injury. In the final against world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi of China, he lost his first game 13 to 21, and faced a crisis as he trailed until the second half of the second game. However, he overcame his strong physical strength and persistent mental strength to win the gold medal.
After the game, he said in an in-court interview with the BWF, "This year's victory in the English Open carries a very important meaning in my career. I learned that by not giving up, I can be very strong. I am very proud of myself," which is noteworthy. He shouted "I am a queen now" in English.
Attention is also being paid to who will be the new coaching staff for the national team after rumors of a discord between the players
Through four competitions this year, it has been confirmed that Chen Yufei (27, world No. 13) of China and Akane Yamaguchi (27, world No. 5) of Japan are no longer big threats to An Se-young. Instead, new Chinese players, including Wang Zhi and Kaofangze (27, world No. 15), have emerged as rivals. "They both performed at a high level. There were differences in details. I have a lot to reflect on. Overall, I am satisfied with my performance, but I have learned a lot from Ahn. I will cherish today's game and play with him again," Wang said, displaying enthusiasm for the next competition. 먹튀검증
"Ahn Se-young? I think I am at a point where I can lead the game itself. If I manage my injury well, who will stop me from taking the lead?" Ha Tae-kwon, former gold medalist in men's doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, commented. "When I play with Ahn, I can feel like I'm facing a wall. I will lose even if I play with him," Lee Yong-dae, the Yonex team's playing coach, said in a media interview in January. "He has good footwork and is well prepared physically. I think he is the perfect player in every way."
After the opening, Ahn took a break and is rehabilitating for about three weeks at her team's training center. Upon closer examination, Ahn was diagnosed with a partial rupture of her right adductor muscle (muscle inside her thigh). Therefore, she has decided not to participate in the Asian Badminton Championships to be held in Ningbo, China on April 8. As she already has gold medals at the World Championships, Asian Games and Olympics, she will achieve the badminton Grand Slam if she wins the Asian Championships.
However, Ahn submitted a medical certificate to the Badminton Korea Association and gave up her participation in the event, judging that recovery from injury is more important than a milestone. After winning the Jeon Young Open, Ahn answered, "I don't know if the Grand Slam will mean a lot."