PETALING JAYA: South Korean badminton legend Park Joo-bong (pic) may already be 60 but he is as motivated as ever and wants to end his coaching career in stellar style with his home team.
And that could spell trouble for Malaysia and other rivals.
Joo-bong has been appointed as the Korean badminton chief coach to bring stability to the squad and add more depth after he ended his illustrious two-decade career as supremo of the Japanese team last month.
It will be his first stint as the boss of Korean badminton.
He had only coached South Korea once before and that was only for five months in guiding their men’s doubles shuttlers – Kim Dong-moon-Ha Tae-kwon and Lee Dong-soo-Yoo Yong-sung – before the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Both pairs did exceptionally well to sweep both the gold and silver medals in an all-Korean final in that Olympics edition.
Joo-bong, who won the men’s doubles title with Kim Moon-soo at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, is excited to head the team for the first time although he had initially planned for his retirement.
“I never thought that I would coach again as I had planned for my retirement. In fact, I attended the All-England this year, not as a coach, but as a spectator. Yonex sent my family and I for a holiday in Birmingham,” said Joo-bong.
However, his former player Dong-moon, who has been elected as the president of the Korean BA, urged Joo-bong to apply for the chief coach position.
And Joo-bong did, beating several other younger coaches to the position.
“I wanted junior coaches to take over but I also wanted to end my coaching career at home. So, I’m sorry to my juniors, but this is my last chance to contribute to my country in this position,” said Joo-bong.
Joo-bong’s contract will end in December, 2026, with the focus on shining at the Asian Games in Japan next year but he could stay on until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games if he is needed.
Besides the Asian Games, Joo-bong is also determined to transform the men’s singles department, currently starved of stars.
Their top singles shuttler is world No. 40 Jeon Hyeok-jin.
“We have good doubles players and we can further improve their quality. My concern is the men’s singles, and I hope to place two in the top 30 but it won’t be easy,” said Joo-bong.
“We want to do well at the Asian Games for a start.
‘‘There are some challenges in our team with players wanting to be professionals and I hope to settle that.
“I may not be able to be on court so much due to my age but I can help analyse and come up with strategies based on my years of experience. I’ve a good relationship with the players, and hopefully, that will keep the team united.”
Joo-bong is not the only chief coach over the age of 60 as Malaysia’s Herry Iman Pierngadi, who is the doubles head coach, is 63.
“I guess the older coaches are still needed because of our experience and we still relish the competition,” said Joo-bong.
“I was so sure that I didn’t want to coach and travel anymore at the start of this year … now, I’ve the headache of managing a team again.”
The real headache, however, will be for Malaysia and other teams as they will have to brace themselves for the rise of South Korea – because, when Joo-bong pours his heart and soul into coaching, expect fireworks.
