Please take care of LA2028, Squash wins the first team competition at the Youth Championship!#Na Joo-young #Oh Seo-jin #Ryu Jung-wook #Lee Jong-hyuk
Feb 17, 2025
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The South Korean squash team, consisting of Naju Young (Chungnam Sports Council), Oh Seo-jin (Incheon Sports Council), Ryu Jung-wook (Chungbuk Sports Council), and Lee Jong-hyuk, beat Malaysia 2-0 in the final of the tournament held at the Hong Kong Squash Center on the 16th (Korea time) to lift the first-ever championship cup.
This victory is a meaningful achievement that proved Korea's potential for development in squash, which was adopted as the first official event at the 2028 LA Olympics and the first summit on the Asian stage in 36 years since the foundation of the Korean Squash Federation in 1989. The Korean squash team represented by Na Joo-young is continuing its growth, reaching the top of Asia following the runner-up in the individual and team events at the Houston World Youth Championships in 2024.
In this tournament, South Korea was seeded as the No. 1 seed, but the high walls of the big four in Asia, including India, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Hong Kong, were by no means formidable. However, the Korean national team has made a perfect winning history, having not lost a single game from the group qualifying round to the final.
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Oh Seo-jin said, `It is an honor to finish the last junior competition with Korea's first championship title.' Ryu Jung-wook expressed overwhelming emotion, saying, `I'm so happy and surprised that the Korean team can do well. I can't speak.' Lee Jong-hyuk said, `I'm grateful that I can perform well like my brothers, and I want to do well in the remaining junior competitions as well.' Ace Na Joo-young said, `I'm very happy that I helped bring the title to Asia for the first time. Very happy and honored to be the main character of the first championship title! I'm proud of my team members!" expressed his feelings.
National team coach Kang Ho-seok said, `In my generation, if I meet Malaysia or Pakistan, it was not a game itself. However, I am thrilled to see the players my generation taught grow up and beat them," he said, congratulating his students on their performance. Kang emphasized the importance of supporting facilities that led to the summit of Asia. "Squash's court wall material is important, and in the past, he practiced on a slippery board-based court, but in 2018, he entered Jincheon Training Center and reached a turning point. Since then, international stadiums have been completed in Cheongju and ASB courts have been created in Gimcheon and Ulsan, allowing players to change to a more aggressive style of play" he explained. He then reiterated the need for support and the constant aspiration of squash players and leaders. "In order to continue the outstanding performance of the junior national team, it is essential for promising players to participate in overseas PSA (World Professional Tour) and to train on field trips with strong teams such as Egypt and France." The Korea Squash Federation is currently in talks with sponsors, and we hope this victory will lead to an expansion of sponsorship."
Meanwhile, at the general meeting of the Asian Squash Federation held during the tournament, the chairman of the Asian Squash Federation's performance improvement committee was elected as the vice chairman of the Asian Federation. Along with the achievements of youth national representatives, they have also achieved meaningful results in Asian sports diplomacy.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
