How top Indian doubles pairs can take help of Korean coach Yong Sung Yoo to boost their careers

The appointment of Yong Sung Yoo at Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) will be a much-needed boost for the Indian badminton fraternity.

Two-time Olympic medalist Yong Sung Yoo was recently appointed as the foreign head coach of the Bengaluru-based PPBA for a three-year term. The experienced Korean coach would be a great help to the Indian shuttlers, particularly the doubles players.

A former doubles specialist, Yong won the men’s doubles silver medals at the two successive Olympic Games.

Left-hander Yong had reached the men’s doubles finals at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics with his Korean partner Lee Dong-soo.

A warhorse for Korea at the Asian Games, the Sudirman Cup Mixed team event and Thomas Cup, Yong was one of the legends of Korean badminton.

The 47-year-old Korean has previously coached national teams in South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Yong was one of the first foreign coaches to train on the Chinese national badminton team.

Yong’s appointment was finalized after a search conducted under a joint initiative by PPBA and Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), with the goal of grooming promising players to achieve podium success at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Appointment of Yong at PPBA at a crucial juncture will help doubles pairs

Yong’s appointment was made at a crucial time when the Indian badminton team was short of specialist coaches. The departure of doubles coach Mathias Boe (Denmark) and singles coach Agus Dwi Santoso (Indonesia) after the Tokyo Olympics has left the Indian shuttlers disappointed.

Chirag Shetty told Sportskeeda he and his partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have been missing specialist coaches since Mathias Boe's exit in August.

“Yes we haven’t had a doubles coach for the past 4 months now since the Olympics. It would be great if we could get one as early as possible because we really need someone to guide us during matches and practice,” said 24-year-old Chirag Shetty.

Singles players like Kidambi Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy also needed specialist coaches since Agus returned to Indonesia before the completion of his contract.

In this backdrop, Korean Yong Sung Yoo can be helpful to the Indian players, particularly the top doubles pairs of the country.

Top Indian doubles pairs can take Yong’s help

Badminton experts in the country are of the view that all the top Indian doubles pairs can learn a lot from Yong thanks to his vast experience.

“Satwiksairaj and Chirag have been doing exceptionally well at the international circuit for the last few years. There's no harm if they can have a stint under Yoo to learn some new tricks from him. Since PPBA is also a national badminton center of Badminton Association of India (BAI), the top duo can always go there for training,” said one of the badminton experts to Sportskeeda.

Another promising pair in the men’s doubles is MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila. They have done well at the Sudirman Cup and Thomas Cup.

“Young pairs like Arjun and Dhruv can also improve their game and technique if they get Yong’s expert guidance and coaching. Doubles in India are picking up well and there are at least 5-6 pairs in the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles who are capable of doing well at the top. If they get Yong’s expertise, it would be beneficial to them and Indian badminton,” said another badminton expert.

Yong’s coaching fees will be entirely borne by the academy sponsors Infosys Foundation and Olympic Gold Quest.

“He’s a very good coach coming in full-time. And he will decide on every aspect of planning for the elite players at PPBA,” said Viren Rasquinha, MD and COO of OGQ.

Former Indian hockey player Viren Rasquinha is excited to have Yong on board at the PPBA.

“OGQ and PPBA have been scouting coaches from across the world for the last one year – from Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Denmark. The pandemic has obviously delayed things a bit. I am glad we have finally narrowed down on Yoo and he has accepted our offer until Paris 2024."

"A very exciting few years ahead for Lakshya and the rest of the young players at PPBA. OGQ has supported Lakshya for 10 years now. But these next 3 years will be the most important in his career."

It is learnt that the BAI is also trying hard to get new foreign coaches to replace Mathias Boe and Agus. The national federation has already shortlisted a couple of names for the job.