Source:REUTERS/Lee Smith
[Saba Sports News] An Se-young has been embroiled in ongoing internal strife with the Korean Badminton Association since winning the women’s singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The struggling Korean Badminton Association plans to form a younger team by 2025 in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with the intent of sidelining An, who is seen as a misfit. In fact, the association has been facing numerous issues since 2018. That year, the Korean team only secured one Super 500 tournament championship; both the men’s and women’s teams were eliminated in the quarter-finals at the Asian Games, with the individual events yielding no medals, marking the worst performance in 36 years. As a result, seven coaches, including Kang Kyung Jin, were dismissed. Only after the current head coach, Kim Hak Kyun, took over did the team’s performance improve, particularly with the prodigious An Se-young, who has since won the All England Championship, the Asian Games, and an Olympic gold medal, breaking records that had stood for over twenty years in Korean badminton. However, following her Olympic victory, An revealed that the Korean Badminton Association disregarded her well-being in pursuit of results, and that she had been subjected to bullying by coaches and seniors, even being asked to wash their underwear. An’s revelations initiated a months-long feud with the association, during which she refused to show respect to Korean coaches, attended basketball games instead, and did not participate in Olympic celebration ceremonies. This behavior became a means for An to resist the Korean Badminton Association. Due to An’s insubordination, the Korean team is preparing to rely heavily on younger players, intending to marginalize her.