[Saba Sports News] On May 15, the news that the Badminton Korea Association awarded a total bonus of 95,000 US dollars to its women’s team for winning the Uber Cup went viral and sparked heated discussions on China’s largest badminton forum.
According to the official announcement of the Badminton Korea Association, a celebration dinner and award ceremony for the Uber Cup championship was recently held at a hotel in Jeonbuk Province to honor the players’ hard work. However, the small bonus has drawn widespread criticism from fans who accuse the association of being overly frugal. The South Korean squad consisted of ten players, including An Se-young, Kim Ga Eun, Sim Yu-jin, Kim Garam, Baek Ha Na, Lee So Hee, Kim Hye Jeong, Jeong Na Eun, Lee Yeon Woo and Lee Seo Jin. Together with coaches, a total of 13 people received the awards. If the bonus is split equally, each person can only get approximately 7,307.69 US dollars.
Aware that the insufficient prize money might trigger public dissatisfaction, relevant officials of the Badminton Korea Association stated in interviews that they will increase support for the national team in the future, help athletes stay in peak form and strive to elevate South Korea’s international competitiveness in badminton.
In my opinion, in most mainstream sports, championship bonuses in South Korea are far lower than those in China, the United States and other countries, especially in badminton, table tennis and less popular Olympic events. Instead of offering generous immediate rewards, South Korea focuses more on commercial development for athletes after competitions.