Korea advertises for a new Head Coach

The Badminton Korea Association (BKA) today advertised on its website for a new Head Coach for the Korean national badminton team, to take charge through to just after the Olympic period in 2020.

Current Head Coach Kang Kyung Jin took the reins in January, 2017 with a contract that ran only until the end of last month.  However, Kang has accompanied the team to the Fuzhou China Open this week, along with coaches Ra Kyung Min, Choi Min Ho, and Agus Dwi Santoso.  Kang Kyung Jin enjoyed enormous success early in his term, when he took a young, inexperienced team to Australia and came home with Korea’s first Sudirman Cup title in 14 years.  But 2018 has been a rocky one as Korea has managed just one runner-up finish at an event above a Super 300, on top of taking home no medals from the World Championships or the Asian Games.

According to the BKA advertisement, Kang’s replacement is to be contracted to head up the team from January 1st, 2019 to September 30, 2020, with renewal contingent upon the results of a post-Olympic performance review.  There was limited mention in the Korean press last month of a mass resignation on the Korean coaching bench following the Asian Games but the BKA has publicly announced neither the resignations nor the action the national body may have taken in response, and all 7 coaches have remained on the national team roster and have continued to take turns travelling with their players to tournaments overseas.  The BKA has a national team selection event scheduled for December 18th to 23rd.  It is at this tryout that the new coaching staff  traditionally picks the national team players for the coming year.

Photo: Badmintonphoto