'Resurrection shot' Seung-jae Seo and Won-ho Kim advance to Korea Open finals... “I gained confidence”

(Yeosu = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Myeong-eon = The world No. 1 badminton doubles team of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho (hereinafter referred to as Samsung Life Insurance), who regained the dignity of 'defending champion', began to regain their honor by winning a ticket to the finals at the Korea Open on the home stage.

Seungjae Seo and Wonho Kim defeated the pair of Man Wei Chong and Tikai 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, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do on the 7th.

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

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, who tied the record for most wins in a single season (11 wins) last year thanks to explosive synergy, struggled somewhat this year due to intensive checks.

Thanks to his overwhelming performance last year, he is firmly maintaining his position as number one in the world rankings, but after winning the Asian Championships last April, he suffered a lot by failing to reach the top in the last nine international competitions, including the Asian Games.

However, a clear turning point was achieved in this competition.

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho, who met after the game, said in unison, "We got good results because we found confidence in the play we were good at and worked on it."

Seo Seung-jae said, “As we have been going through difficult times, we tried to focus on what we were good at in this tournament,” and added, “Rather than reacting to the opponent’s play, we tried to actively do what we were doing first.”

In fact, on this day, the two players gave up the early lead in both games but turned the tide with their backs.

As Seo Seung-jae said, he increased the rally tempo with aggressive play to induce impatience in the opponent, and did not allow any gaps in the court with solid organizational skills.

Seo Seung-jae cited the enthusiasm of the spectators as the driving force behind this rebound.

He expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thanks to the cheering from the audience, I was able to concentrate more, and I gained confidence as I played,” adding, “I think the flow itself went better than other competitions thanks to the cheering.”

By advancing to the finals, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho achieved their second consecutive victory in the competition and had the opportunity to lift the championship trophy at home.

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

At the end of the interview, Kim Won-ho smiled brightly and said (to his Korean colleagues), “We played well in the semifinals today and will see you tomorrow.”