Source:REUTERS/Peter Cziborra
[Saba Sports News] As a badminton powerhouse, South Korea has won a total of 14 gold medals at the BWF World Championships, ranking third overall behind China’s 72 and Indonesia’s 23. In particular over the past two years, An Se-young in women’s singles and the pair Seo Seung Jae/Kim Won-ho in men’s doubles have become dominant forces. But surprisingly, despite such outstanding achievements, South Korea has gone 50 consecutive years without ever hosting the BWF World Championships. Records show that, apart from Olympic years, the BWF World Championships are held annually, yet Korea has never hosted the event — which is truly puzzling. This year’s Championships will be held in New Delhi, India, in August, but the event has already sparked controversies over health issues and venue facilities. In response, some Korean fans argue that if even India can host the BWF World Championships, there’s no reason Korea cannot, and they suggest the Korea Badminton Association actively bid for next year’s tournament.
The editor believes that bidding to host the BWF World Championships requires meeting a series of strict standards set by the Badminton World Federation, mainly covering venue facilities, event organization, transportation and accommodation, and overall city capacity. Priority is given to cities that have previously hosted major international badminton events such as the Sudirman Cup or Thomas & Uber Cups. However, Korea has not yet hosted the Sudirman Cup or Thomas & Uber Cups, and therefore does not yet have mature experience in running events of this scale.