Badminton Coach Tries to Lift Pressure Off Korean Athletes Ahead of Asian Games
JINCHEON, South Korea — With the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games just days away, South Korean badminton coach Park Joo-bong is trying to keep one thing away from his athletes: the weight of expectations.
Park, head coach of the Korean national badminton team, said Tuesday that his players should concentrate on performing their best rather than becoming consumed by medal targets.
His comments came after he learned that the Badminton Korea Association had submitted a target of three gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals for the Asian Games.
For Park, however, the numbers should not become another opponent for his players.
“The primary goal is to help my players perform to the best of their abilities,” Park said, according to Yonhap. “If they can do that, then good results will naturally follow.”
‘Don’t chase the numbers’
Park acknowledged that he would be delighted if the team reaches the official medal target, but warned that constantly thinking about the numbers could increase the pressure on athletes.
Instead, he wants them to approach the Asian Games as they would any other major international competition.
His message is particularly relevant because badminton is one of the sports in which Asian countries traditionally dominate, meaning athletes face elite opposition while also carrying significant expectations from home supporters.
Park believes changing the athletes' mindset can help turn that pressure into confidence.
He suggested that players revisit highlights of their best performances as part of their preparation, allowing them to remember what they are capable of rather than dwelling on the expectations surrounding the Games.
Korea wants to build on Hangzhou success
South Korea enters the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after a strong badminton showing at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Korean team won two gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals in Hangzhou, finishing second behind China in both gold medals and overall medal count.
The latest three-gold target would therefore represent an improvement on that performance.
It would also put Korea just one gold medal short of the country's all-time Asian Games record in badminton, set at the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
But Park appears determined not to let that historical benchmark become an additional burden.
Park knows pressure from experience
The coach is hardly a stranger to the Asian Games spotlight.
Before becoming a coach, Park was an elite badminton player and accumulated eight Asian Games medals across three appearances, along with five world titles and two Olympic medals.
That experience gives him a personal understanding of what athletes can face when expectations become overwhelming.
His advice is simple: treat the Asian Games as another international tournament, focus on each match and let the results follow.
India’s champions taking a similar approach
Korea is not alone in trying to manage expectations before the Games.
India's defending men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have also spoken about avoiding unnecessary pressure ahead of their title defense.
Fresh from winning the China Masters, the Indian pair said they want to focus on enjoying their badminton rather than constantly thinking about the expectation of winning another Asian Games gold.
Their recent China Masters victory has nevertheless given them an important confidence boost.
The world No. 5 pair came from behind to defeat China's He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in the final, winning 11-21, 21-13, 21-17 and claiming their first China Masters title.
The victory also arrived at an important moment after injuries and interrupted competitive schedules had affected their rhythm.
A different way to handle expectations
The approaches of Park and the Indian doubles champions point toward the same lesson: athletes cannot completely eliminate pressure, but they can change how they respond to it.
For Korea, the official target is already on the table—three golds, one silver and two bronzes.
But Park does not want his athletes entering competition thinking about a medal tally after every match.
He wants them thinking about execution, confidence and playing their best badminton.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games run from September 19 to October 4, meaning the countdown is now entering its final stage.
And when the medals are finally decided, Park's strategy will face its biggest test: Can Korea's athletes turn less pressure into more performance when the stakes are at their highest?