Badminton coach wants athletes not to worry about medal targets at Asian Games

Park Joo-bong, the head coach of the Korean national badminton team competing at this month's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, said Tuesday he will try his best to take the pressure off his athletes.

He emphasized the point after belatedly learning about the medal target submitted by the Badminton Korea Association (BKA) to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.

The BKA said the national team will try to bring home three gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals from the Asian Games — with the gold medal total being one shy of the country's all-time record set on home soil at the 2002 Asiad in Busan.

"Well, this is the first time I am hearing about those numbers," Park said with a smile during the national team press conference at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong. "I would be thrilled if we do meet these numbers. We performed so well at the last Asian Games and we will try to at least match that success."

Korea grabbed two gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games in China, finishing behind only the hosts in both the gold medal count and the total medal tally. It was an unqualified success for Korea after it was shut out of medals at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

Park insisted he did not want his athletes to get caught up in numbers.

"The primary goal is to help my players perform to the best of their abilities," the coach said. "If they can do that, then good results will naturally follow. When these medal numbers are out there for all to see, then it will only put more pressure on them. So I want them to focus on playing their best badminton and not chase numbers."

As a veritable badminton legend with eight medals in his three Asian Games appearances, along with five world titles and two Olympic medals, Park knows a thing or two about handling pressure. And he said he understands the Asian Games for badminton players may not be all that different from the Olympic Games, as far as the level of pressure and the quality of opponents, because most of the top players hail from Asia.

His advice to his athletes this time is to look at the Asian Games as just another event.

"This is such a major competition but based on my experience, it will help ease pressure on them if they approach it as a regular international event, not the Asian Games," Park said. "I also think it will benefit athletes if they go back and watch highlights of their best matches. This will help turn pressure into confidence."

Yonhap