New Korean faces prepare for Asian Juniors

Korea wrapped up its Summer Championships yesterday in the western city of Dangjin.  Kim Ga Eun, Kang Min Hyuk, and Kim Won Ho all titled nationally as they prepare to face Asia’s best in Thailand next month.

Story and photos by Don Hearn (live in Dangjin)

While Korea’s senior team is anticipating a major refresh with the inevitable rash of post-Olympic retirements, the renewal has already begun in the junior ranks.  Last autumn, Korea kept its top graduating juniors at home from Peru and sent a very young squad instead.  For this year’s Asian Juniors, there are newer faces still, as the badminton powerhouse heads to Bangkok in search of a first major junior title since they picked up one team and two individual golds at the World Juniors back in 2013 in the same city.

This summer will mark the under-19 debut of Kim Won Ho, son of 1996 Olympic gold medallist Gil Young Ah.  Kim’s regular partner Kang Min Hyuk (pictured top, at right) already had his test as a top junior representative when he reached the semi-finals of both the Dutch and German Juniors earlier this year.  Kang and Kim picked up their first national high school title after taking three national middle school titles together, as well as the under-17 title at last year’s Korean Junior International.

The high school girls’ singles final matched up the only two junior players selected last month for Korea’s senior national badminton team.  Kim Ga Eun (pictured below left), beat her team-mate Kim Hyang Im (pictured below right), and followed that up with a win in girls’ doubles as well.  The two Kims were runners-up at both the Dutch and German Juniors earlier this year as a girls’ doubles pair.

At last year’s Asian Juniors, Kim Ga Eun was just a few points away from beating eventual World Junior Champion Goh Jin Wei.  As a member of the senior national team, she will get some additional preparation for Bangkok when she plays at the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold.  Kim Hyang Im had not yet made the cut for the national team when the Taipei entries were sent in.