The South Korean men's badminton national team easily secured a spot in the quarterfinals by defeating Hong Kong in their opening match of the team event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Led by head coach Park Joo-bong, the South Korean men's team beat Hong Kong 3-1 in the round of 16 held today at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Having won a bronze medal together at the previous Hangzhou Games, the men's team is aiming to reclaim the top spot for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Games.

In the quarterfinals, they will face a head-on clash against China, which boasts a star-studded squad.

Rising star Yoo Tae-bin (ranked 46th in the world), who stepped up as the first singles player today, claimed the momentum with an encouraging victory.

Yoo pulled off an upset by defeating world number 19 Lee Cheuk Yiu 2-1 (18-21, 21-16, 22-20).

Although Yoo conceded the first game after narrowly missing out—rallying back from a 1-7 deficit early on to tie it at 18-18 only to give up three consecutive points—he leveled the match in the second game by rattling off four straight points from a 15-15 tie.

He then displayed late-game resilience in a fierce deuce battle during the final third game to deliver the team's first win.
 
In the subsequent second doubles match, world number one pair Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho easily claimed victory.

They showed peak condition by overpowering Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man and Ho Wai Lun 2-0 (21-9, 21-10) in just 31 minutes.

In the third singles match, Park Sang-young (ranked 79th) lost 0-2 (18-21, 17-21) to Jason Gunawan (ranked 24th) to give up a point, but the fourth doubles pair sealed the match after a tight contest.

World number 14 pair Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju earned a thrilling 2-1 (18-21, 22-20, 21-18) comeback victory over Chan Yin Chak and Lui Chun Wai, cleanly finishing the match without passing any burden onto the final singles player waiting in reserve, Choi Ji-hoon.

The South Korean men's badminton team will aim for a spot in the semifinals tomorrow against China at the same venue.

(Photo: Yonhap News)