South Korean Yoo Yong Sung’s command of the English language may be basic, but there was one point during his interview with The New Paper on Thursday that was crystal clear.
Clutching his heart, the new Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) technical adviser spoke of his heartache of twice missing out on the Olympic men’s doubles gold.
Said the 39-year-old, who won the silver at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics: “I first played in the 1996 Olympics but was knocked out in the early stages. Then I won the silver in the next two, and was too old to continue as a player after that.
“Now as a coach, I want to focus on helping Singapore players win an Olympic gold medal one day.”
According to the 39-year-old, who was once coaching the South Korean national team, the calibre of Republic’s shuttlers is not that far away from world-class standards.
He said: “Singapore’s players are at about 70 per cent (of world-class standards); to be a good doubles player you have to have power and control of the court. The players here have the power, but they lack the physical conditioning and the control of the court.”
Yoo was recruited by the national sports association about a month ago, following former national doubles coach Eng Hian’s departure late last year.
Yoo said: “As a player, I had been here to play in the Singapore Open for about eight to 10 times in the past and I found the country very clean.
“I discussed with my wife and we wanted to come here because the education system here is good and we want our children to learn Chinese as well.”
Singapore shuttlers can be world class
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