'Badminton Kim Cheong-shin' 26-year-old duo Jung Jae-gun and Yoo Soo-young passed the group qualifying round

Aug 31, 2024

Yoo Soo-young (right) of the Korean badminton team, who competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, is discussing his strategy with his partner Jung Jae-gun in the men's doubles (grade 1-2) group qualifying match. Provided by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

It was an overwhelming performance and close to perfection. Thanks to this, a green light was lit on the traffic light of the badminton men's doubles gold medal.

No team outperformed the group of Jung Jae-gun (47, WH1, Ulsan Jung-gu Office) and Yoo Soo-young (21, WH2, Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled) in the badminton men's doubles group qualifying round. They knocked down all their competitors and ended the group qualifying schedule with a victory.

Jung Jae-gun and Yoo Soo-young defeated Japan's Matsumoto Takumi-Nagashima Osamu with a set score of 2-0 (21-16 21-13) in the third Group A match of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Badminton Men's Doubles (grade 1-2) at the Port de Chappelle Arena in France on the afternoon of the 31st (Korea time).

As a result, the Jung Jae-gun and Yoo Soo-young group passed the group qualifying round with three wins and reached the semifinals. It has already confirmed its advance to the semifinals by catching both qualifying matches the previous day. In other words, he has secured at least a bronze medal. There is no third or fourth place match in the Paralympics. All are given bronze medals.

Yoo Soo-young (left) of the South Korean badminton team, who competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, hits a shuttlecock in the men's doubles (grade 1-2) group qualifying match in a group match with Jung Jae-gun. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

In the final third game of the day, Jung Jae-gun and Yoo Soo-young competed against Japan, which is also winning two consecutive games, for the top spot in the group. 'First place in a group' has a very important meaning. This is because it can first avoid China, which is considered the 'strongest' in the semifinals. There is an advantage in advancing to the finals.

Japan was also winning two games after defeating other Korean teams in Group A, Choi Jung-man (45, WH1) and Kim Jung-joon (46, WH2, Daegu Urban Development Corporation) and Thomas Jakub-David Tupe of host France. However, Jung Jae-gun and Yoo Soo-young finished first in the group with a victory after pushing Japan all the way for 39 minutes. The semifinals will be held at 3:20 a.m. on the 1st.

Jeong Jae-gun (right) of the Korean badminton team, who competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, hits a shuttlecock in the men's doubles (grade 1-2) group qualifying match in a group match with Yoo Soo-young (left). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Yoo Soo-young, who reached the semi-finals as the top of the group, said, `I achieved my first goal. "Now, no matter which team we meet, we are No. 1 in the group, and the opponent is No. 2 in the group, so we will go to the final with the idea of winning unconditionally." "There is a high possibility that we will meet the strongest China in the final, and I will make an unexpected change." raised his voice. Jeong Jae-gun also avoided China for now as he came to the top of the group. Now, if any team steps forward with confidence, they will be able to reach the final."

Choi Jung-man and Kim Jung-joon (from left) of the Korean badminton team, who competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, are playing in the men's doubles (grade 1-2) group qualifying match. They failed to reach the semifinals with one win and two losses in the group qualifying round. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Choi Jung-man and Kim Jung-joon, who were aiming to advance to the semifinals together in Group A, lost two games until the previous day and were confirmed to be eliminated. However, the team beat France 2-1 (21-18 13-21 21-5) in the final third game of the day. Choi Jung-man said, `I went in with the idea of achieving a successful conclusion because the elimination from the group qualifying round was confirmed.' `I think it worked out well late, but I think it's a little late.' I would like to say sorry to my partner (Kim Jung-joon) and thank you for your hard work," he added.

Kim Jung-joon also vowed, "(I worked with Choi Jung-man) for three years and had a hard time together, but I'm a little disappointed that this happened,' but added "I'll focus on the rest of the game because I still have singles."

wman@sportschosun.com