Seo Seung-jae (Samsung Life Insurance) and Chae Yoo-jung (Incheon International Airport) at the top of the mixed doubles standings at the 2023 World Badminton Championships. As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a tree that can’t be cut down 10 times.

Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung topped the mixed doubles final at the World Championships at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark on July 27 (KST). They were all smiles after defeating World No. 1 Zheng Zhiwei and Huang Yaechung (CHN), who had given them a bitter pill to swallow nine times on the international stage.

“I thought this was the 10th time I’d tried this, and I was thinking, ‘I can’t open this door even if I knock on it,’ and my confidence dropped a lot,” Chae confessed at her return press conference at Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 29th. “I thought I had reached my limit, so this time I thought, ‘Let’s relax and enjoy it,’ and I think I was able to show more of my skills,” she said.

Commenting on the final match, Chae Yoo-jung said, “Since they are a team we have played against a lot, we tried to look at a little more detail when analyzing,” and added, “It is important to do what we are good at, but we also analyzed what our opponents are good at more clearly,” revealing the secret of their victory.

Seo Seung-jae credited her older sister (Chae Yoo-jung) for analyzing the game, saying, “Honestly, I didn’t analyze much because there were a lot of matches going on, but she did her part, so the things she caught helped a lot.” “It’s not just the final, but also the quarterfinals and the semifinals, and it means the most to me that we beat them all this time and won,” she reflected.

There was also a crisis in the match. In the third set, with the score tied at 1-1, the Chinese team came from behind. It was at this point that Seo Seung-jae’s in-game advice came in handy for Chae.

“I kept losing (to them), so I was thinking, ‘I’m going to fall apart like this again,’ but Seung Jae said, ‘Just enjoy it,'” Chae said, noting that it was a point where she was able to be a little more determined. “The Chinese players also said, ‘You did really well, good job,'” Chae added. I felt even more honored.”

Seo Seung-jae sees the match as an opportunity for improvement. “I was upset because the results were often not good, but I think this will help me improve,” Seo said, adding, “I will not rest on my laurels and will do my best to improve at the Asian Games, the Olympics, and other open competitions.”

It’s been 20 years since Korea Badminton won a mixed doubles gold medal at the World Championships since 2003. In the meantime, there have been a lot of concerns and worries about the mixed doubles. “I wasn’t upset when I heard that we weren’t doing well,” said Chae Yoo-jung. “I tried not to be upset about it,” she said, adding, “I thought I would just go on my way, and that’s how I got such a good result. 스포츠토토

“It took me a long time to achieve such a glorious result, so I’m really grateful for your support,” he said, adding, “There are still big competitions ahead, so if you continue to look at me with a good eye like now, I will gain strength and repay you with a bigger medal.”

Seo Seung-jae also expressed his gratitude, saying, “When we played in Denmark, we received a lot of support until late at night, and it was a great honor for us to be able to repay that support.”