First Badminton Women's Doubles Gold in 24 Years: Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na

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There was another thrilling and competitive event at this Asian Games. It was badminton.

Today (8th), joining us on Invitation Seat are Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, the members of the women's badminton doubles pair who conquered Asia for the first time in 24 years.

Q. Winning the gold medal in badminton women's doubles at the Asian Games... How do you feel?


[Baek Ha-na / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : Well, since we won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Games, we really wanted to win gold this time. I am so glad we were able to win the gold medal, and I think it is an honor to win it after 24 years.]

[Lee So-hee / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : I also think it is a great honor that we won the gold medal in women's doubles at the Asian Games for the first time in 24 years, and it makes me even happier because it was a gold medal we never expected.]

Q. The 'piggyback celebration' became a hot topic... How did you prepare for it?


[Baek Ha-na / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : We haven't won many championships together, but if we did, unni (older sister/partner) used to give me a piggyback ride. So I told her beforehand that since this is such a major competition, if we win, I would do a celebration where I give unni a piggyback ride. And with a happy heart, she told me to hop right on.]

[Lee So-hee / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : I think I asked, "So, you're going to carry me?"... She carried me with a bit of a struggle.]

Q. You narrowly dropped the first set... How did you steel your minds before the start of the second set?


[Lee So-hee / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : I considered that set to be quite important, and since we lost it and moved on, I actually thought the second set would be a bit difficult. Usually, when our momentum goes like that and we drop the first set after a tough fight, there are many matches where we tend to lose the second set rather easily. So I thought it might be tough, but we went into it thinking let's at least try to stick together right from the start.]

Q. A 117-shot rally... Didn't you feel the limits of your physical endurance?

[Baek Ha-na / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : I suppose all four players must have found it tough, but we ran so hard that if we had lost this match, we would have had too many regrets. Since it's tough anyway, winning feels even better, so I think I gritted my teeth and kept running to win.]

Q. Later in the match, Lee So-hee's steps also looked a bit uncomfortable. Did it feel like cramps were coming on?


[Lee So-hee / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : Naturally, in the latter half of the third set, cramps seemed to hit me first, and I was just trying to run through the pain when the Chinese player suffered even worse cramps.]

Q. A match that showed the 'essence of sportsmanship'... What was your strategy?

[Baek Ha-na / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : I thought there shouldn't be any changes to the style of play we usually perform, so we just tried to play the way we always do. It was heartbreaking to see an injury happen, but I think I tried hard not to pay attention to that and just hit the shuttlecock.]

Q. Four years have passed since forming the pair... How is the chemistry between the two of you?

[Lee So-hee / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : As for our chemistry, the period we've spent playing together is now about four years. Because of that, I think things match up much better in the finer details compared to the past, and since we filled in a lot of the areas we needed to complement this time, in Hana's case, she possesses world-renowned defensive skills, while I prefer and enjoy attacking rather than defending. When we bring those different strengths onto the court, I think it creates a more exciting match.]

Q. You defeated the world's number one Chinese players... Did you completely figure out your opponents?


[Lee So-hee / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : Rather than having figured them out, there are always so many tournaments, and we've faced them frequently. Even though we knew what we needed to do as players to win against the Chinese players, we kept losing because we couldn't execute it, but this time at the World Championships and the Asian Games, luck was slightly more on our side so we were able to win.]

Q. Do you have any next goals?


[Lee So-hee / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : Now that a major tournament has concluded, our current goal is to enjoy the remaining tournaments ahead of us while competing in them and hopefully achieving good results.]

[Baek Ha-na / National Badminton Team & Asian Games Gold Medalist : I also think it's fortunate that we prepared extensively for the Asian Games, which is the biggest tournament of the year, and achieved such great results. For now, my goal is to prepare well with unni without getting injured and achieve good results at the Finals tournament in December.]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.