(Olympics) S. Korean Olympic chief asks badminton coaches for report in light of gold medalist’s comments

Responding to critical comments by a badminton gold medalist toward her national team, South Korean Olympic chief Lee Kee-heung said Tuesday he had ordered five coaches to submit reports on the situation. The action by Lee, president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC), was in reference to criticism that An Se-young, the women's singles champion at the Paris Olympics, leveled against the national badminton team moments after she won her gold medal Monday. An, who had suffered a torn knee ligament in October 2023 while playing in the gold medal match of the Asian Games, claimed that her national team staff didn't take her injury as seriously as they should have. She also said she found it "difficult" to continue on with the national team, though she later clarified she wasn't about to retire from international play, and she was only demanding some action from the Badminton Korea Association. With An and the rest of the badminton team heading back home Tuesday evening, Lee said he didn't have enough time to look deeper into the situation. Speaking to reporters at South Korea's training camp in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, Lee said, "I ordered five coaches to submit reports on how An's injury had been handled in the months between the Asian Games and the Paris Olympics." On top of injury management, An accused the national team of building training programs around doubles players instead of singles players like herself, and of sticking to archaic and inefficient regimens. Lee said he was aware of An's complaints but he wasn't about to take sides. "It wasn't clear to me exactly what she's upset about with the badminton association, and grounds for her claims are ambiguous," Lee said. "Once we return home, we at the KSOC will look deeper into that." Separately, the sports ministry has also said it will investigate the matter and try to see why An was compelled to make those comments. Before heading home Tuesday, An told reporters at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport that she would make a statem ent after she arrives back in South Korea. "The situation is quite complicated now," An said. "I will have more to say once I am back in Korea." Badminton medalists were scheduled to have a joint press conference for South Korean media earlier Tuesday, but An did not attend. The KSOC explained that An had decided not to come, but An said she was told not to say anything about the situation. "They just told me to wait. There wasn't anything I could do," she said. "I don't know what's going on." Only Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun, who won silver in the mixed doubles, were there at the presser, and they mostly fielded questions about An, instead of their own accomplishment. An apologized to the fellow medalists that they weren't properly celebrated. "I am very sorry that they weren't really recognized for what they did. That wasn't my intention," An said. "They deserve to be celebrated." Source: Yonhap News Agency