Shuttlecock breaks silence, world No. 1 Seung-jae Seo and Won-ho Kim advance to Korea Open finals

The pair of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, ranked No. 1 in the badminton men's doubles world rankings, took the opportunity to break their silence and quench their thirst for victory at home by reaching the final stage.

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho defeated Man Wei-chong and Thi Kai-un (Malaysia, 9th place) 2-0 (21-17 21-17) in the men's doubles semifinals of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 500 Korea Open held at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do on the 7th.

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho have advanced to the finals of an international competition for the first time in six competitions since the China Open last July, when they won a silver medal.

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, backed by the support of their home fans, got off to an uneasy start by giving up 3 points in the first game, but immediately turned the game around by scoring 5 consecutive points.

Afterwards, both groups became aggressive and a fast-tempo rally continued.

The tense flow of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho giving up the lead and chasing after them was repeated repeatedly, but the Malaysian group became impatient at the last minute and made mistakes one after another, allowing Korea to score 5 consecutive points to take the lead.

In the next two games, they were dragged throughout, but showed their fighting spirit and turned the atmosphere around.

The Malaysian group tried to hastily dispose of the shuttlecock that Won-ho Kim tenaciously caught even though he lost his balance and fell, and it ended up in the net, taking the lead for the first time in two games at 12-11.

Soon after, a famous scene was produced.

During the rally, while Kim Won-ho went out of the court to change his racket, Seo Seung-jae defended the court alone, and Kim Won-ho, who returned with a new racket, scored consecutive points by hitting a smash that accurately pierced between the opponent's legs.

With full momentum, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho did not allow a single reversal and widened the score gap, putting an end to the game with a comfortable gap.

After confirming their victory, the Korean group enjoyed the joy of launching the shuttlecock towards the audience.

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, who tied the record for the most wins in a single season by jointly winning 11 trophies as soon as they formed the group last season, appear to be somewhat faltering this season due to their opponents' intensive checks.

Thanks to his overwhelming performance last season, he is firmly maintaining his position as number one in the world rankings, but since winning the Asian Championships last April, he has not reached the top in the nine recent international competitions he has participated in, including the Asian Games.

However, in this year's Korea Open, he reached the finals after a long time, achieved his second consecutive victory in the tournament, and had a golden opportunity to enjoy his first win in a long time at home.

The opponents of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho in the final are the semifinal winners of Kang Min-hyuk and Lee Jong-min (173rd) and Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi (Japan, 14th), who are newly teamed in this tournament.