Para Badminton Player Park Hae-sung Wins Three Silver Medals at Asian Para Games, Falls Short of China's Qu Zimo

Para badminton player Park Hae-sung (29, Ulsan Jung-gu Office) has claimed three silver medals at his debut Asian Para Games.

He reached the finals in all three events he entered, but was repeatedly blocked by China's Qu Zimo, missing out on the gold medals.

In the men's doubles (sports class WH1-WH2) final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games held today (the 23rd) at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Park Hae-sung and Yu Soo-young (23, Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities) lost 0-2 (11-21, 10-21) to Mai Jianpeng and Qu Zimo of China.

The South Korean pair failed to take the lead even once throughout both games, settling for the silver medal.

Mai Jianpeng and Qu Zimo are powerhouse players who achieved consecutive victories in this event at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Paralympics.

They also achieved their third consecutive victory at the Asian Para Games, following the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou tournaments.

The opponents in the finals of the three Asian Para Games, including the two Paralympics and this tournament, were all South Korean pairs.

Park Hae-sung encountered Qu Zimo three times in the finals alone on this day.

He lost 0-2 (2-21, 7-21) to the pair of Qu Zimo and Liu Yutong in the mixed doubles final partnering with Jung Gyeo-ul (22, Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities), and also lost 0-2 (9-21, 8-21) to Qu Zimo in the men's singles WH1 final.

Yu Soo-young also narrowly lost 1-2 (10-21, 21-18, 22-24) to Daiki Kajiwara of Japan in the men's singles WH2 final, finishing the tournament with two silver medals.

They even reached match point in the final game but failed to secure the victory.

After the match, Park Hae-sung said, "They were so formidable that it was originally a hard opponent to beat," while Yu Soo-young expressed regret, saying, "We practiced focusing only on that team, but it feels like everything we practiced didn't come out," revealing the need to revise their strategy.

The two players, who have been teaming up since last year, are now looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.

Yu Soo-young said, "The Asian Para Games is a stepping stone, and we are looking at LA," adding, "I hope to continue partnering with Hae-sung."

Park Hae-sung responded warmly, saying, "Even though he is younger, Soo-young makes up for a lot of my shortcomings."

(Photo provided by the Korean Paralympic Committee, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.