“It’s a court that came back, but I have to go to the Paris Olympics. I am confident.”
In 2017, before an unknown injury came. Jeon Hyeok-jin (28, Yonex), who was considered the next-generation ace of Korean badminton men’s singles, was ranked 17th in the world. Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto climbed from 40th to 60th. At that time, Jeon Hyuk-jin was토스카지노 overwhelming Nishimoto with 5 wins and 1 loss in the opponent record.
On the 17th, the two reunited after six years in Group D of the World Mixed Team Championships (Sudirman Cup) in Suzhou, China. The situation was just the opposite. Jeon Hyuk-jin, who had been absent for about two and a half years, ranked 69th in the world and Nishimoto ranked 15th. Among the five events, Korea was evaluated to be particularly behind Japan in men’s singles.
Jeon Hyuk-jin, as if ridiculing such expectations, won the men’s singles match 3 to 2, and became a stepping stone to Korea’s perfect 5-0 victory. The World Badminton Federation (BWF) said on its website, “Japan has never suffered such a shocking defeat recently.”
Jeon Hyeok-jin said, “Nishimoto was weak to me in the past, but after 6 years, my playing style and inclination all change.” I came into the game with the thought of bumping into each other,” he said. He added, “I had confidence by inheriting the momentum of the mixed doubles, but I easily won the first set and scored at a crucial moment in the second set, and good results came out.”
Jeon Hyeok-jin is facing Genta Nishimoto, whom he met for the first time in six years. Shinhwa Yonhap News
Jeon Hyeok-jin, who was with Korea when they stood at the top of the Sudirman Cup by blocking China’s 7th consecutive victory in 2017, said, “I think it is my duty to keep the atmosphere alive without giving up whether I win or lose. We will do our best so that we can achieve good results.”
Jeon Hyuk-jin returned to the court in the fall of 2020, wore the Taegeuk mark again at the end of that year, and won the Korea Masters in April last year. A month later, in the quarterfinals of the World Men’s Team Championships (Thomas Cup) against Denmark, he defeated Anders Antonsen, who was world number 3 at the time. However, after that, he struggled in low-ranking competitions, such as falling in the preliminary round of the challenge, and came to a plateau.
In the meantime, the 2024 Paris Olympics, which I have been dreaming of since coming back from injury, are approaching in about a year. For Jeon Hyuk-jin, his performance at the Sudirman Cup, the first event to accumulate points for participating in the Paris Olympics, provided an opportunity for a rebound. The points accumulated by the end of April next year determine the finalists for the Olympics, and to go to Paris, they must raise their world rankings to the top 40.
Hyukjin Jeon said, “I am always thinking and preparing hard. He is confident,” he said. “I want to achieve good results in the Hangzhou Asian Games, while also achieving my dream of becoming a top 10 player in the world since I was young. I will aim for more than that,” he said, shining his eyes.