China badminton team turns to South Korean coach after their worst performance at World Championships
- Kang Kyung-jin will be become sport’s first official overseas coach, report says
- China captured only one gold in recent worlds, its smallest haul since 1983 debut
Badminton power China will sign their first official overseas coach after their worst world championships performance in Basel last month.
South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo (East Asia Daily) reported Kang Kyung-jin, former head coach of the South Korean national team, will join the China national team’s coaching staff.
Kang left the Korean team after they failed for the first time to win an Asian Games medal in the 2018 Indonesia Games. He only took up the top job in 2016, but found it too difficult to settle.
It’s believed Kang, a doubles specialist in his playing days, is to be appointed the women’s doubles coach, an event dominated by Japan in recent years. Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi won the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medal and are second in the world rankings which see Japanese players occupy the top three positions.
Japan badminton also has a South Korean head coach, Park Joo-bong, to help their build-up towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.