"The golden generation of Korean squash that surprised the world" "The youngest on top"Na Joo-young X Junior National Team, the first runner-up at the World Championships in individual X group!"Please take care of LA2028"
Jul 24, 2024
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Squash, which was adopted as an official event for the 2028 LA Olympics, had a proper accident in the mainland United States. It started with Na Joo-young (Cheonan Wolbong High School 3), the youngest member of the national team from 'Squasi Shindong'.
Na Joo-young won the silver medal in the individual World Junior Squash Championships at the squash club in Houston, USA. It was a rebellion by the ninth seed. In the quarterfinals, he shocked the world's squash by winning 3-2 after a full set battle with defending champion Hamza Khan of Pakistan, and in the semifinals, he succeeded in reaching the final for the first time in history by reversing his set score of 0-2 against 「Malaysian Powerhouse」Harris Daniel Jeffrey, who lost the Asian Junior Championship last month. It is the first time in 10 years that a ninth-seeded player has advanced to the finals. In the final, he was completely defeated by Egypt's Mohammad Zakaria 0-3 but the squash clock went wild with Na Joo-young's fighting.
In the team event that followed, South Korea continued its momentum with Naju-young at the forefront. The junior national team, consisting of Naju-young, Kim Gun (Jeonbuk Sports Council), Oh Seo-jin (Incheon Daegun High School), and Ryu Jung-wook (Chungbu Sang High School), received the fourth seed in the adjusted seed after the individual competition, was organized in Group D with Australia and the Philippines, and advanced to the round of 16 tournaments with two wins and first place in the group.
Young Guns, who won 2-0 against New Zealand in the round of 16 and 2-1 against India in the quarterfinals, beat home powerhouse the U.S. 2-0 in the semifinals, proving that the achievement of the individual match was not a coincidence. The World Squash Federation SNS expressed surprise at South Korea's advance to the finals, and South Korea's squash enthusiastically cheered the junior national team's performance.
In the morning of the 24th, Naju-young showed a better performance against Mohammad Zakaria, who lost in the individual final against Egypt, but lost 0-3, and Kim Gun tried to turn the tables, but South Korea was runner-up as it lost 1-3 to Mawan Asal.
South Korea, which ranked 32nd in the individual competition by Naju Young in 2022 and 14th in the team competition in 2022, expressed its hope for the 2028 LA Olympics with the emergence of the golden generation and the highest ever record of runner-up in the individual and team competitions. Like Egyptian and Malaysian aces, if they gain experience in various international games, including the PSA Tour, they will be able to do well in the 2028 LA Olympics.
Junior national team coach Kim Seung-wook said, `I've been watching foreign players play in the finals with envy, but it was overwhelming that our players were on the final stage, playing and coaching,' adding, `"For three weeks, we had a good result by teaming up with the players." Coach Na Min-woo, Joo-young, Seo-jin, Gun, and Jung-wook all worked hard together. I'd like to thank the squash fans and the squash family for cheering us on at dawn in Korea" expressed his feelings. He then aspired to the Golden Generation's interest and investment in squash, saying, "The results of this competition are meaningful because they proved that Korea's coaching method works on the world stage as a result of Korean coaches' hard work." "Now there is no gap in the skill level of the players. However, there is a limit to the growth of players because they have no experience in PSA tours. If companies continue to take active interest and investment in the future, we expect surprising results to continue at the 2028 LA Olympics.
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Na Joo-young, who swept the runner-up in the individual and team events 'Ace', expressed her overwhelming feelings, saying, `I put a lot of effort and training for this competition, and I'm happy to be able to achieve Korea's first record of second place in the individual and team events twice, and I'm very proud to be a member of the Korean team.' "There are so many people who are grateful for their loving family and squash family who always support them, Chungnam team players who train together, coach Kang Ho-seok who helps a lot in training at Jincheon Training Center," he said. "I will make sure to climb to a higher position next time." also conveyed his golden determination.
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