What did Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho say about their goal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games?

They said they want to go for the gold medal despite their recent slump. Kim said they hope to stick to their process and avoid regrets, while Seo said they want to focus on what they do best instead of experimenting.

Why are Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho under pressure heading into the Asian Games?

They have gone without a title since the Asian championships in April and have collected two silver medals and three bronze medals in their last five international events. Their latest setback was a first-round loss at the China Masters, their first opening-round defeat since they reunited in January 2025.

What is Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho's Asian Games record as a pair?

Their first Asian Games together was in 2018, when they lost in the round of 16 to Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. Seo later won two bronze medals at the 2023 Asian Games, while Kim won silver in men’s doubles with Choi Sol-gyu.

Badminton doubles players focusing on process in pursuit of 1st Asian Games gold together

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Summary

Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho will enter the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Jincheon still ranked No. 1 in men’s doubles but struggling with recent results. The Korean pair said Tuesday they want to focus on process and play with confidence rather than experiment. They are seeking their first Asian Games gold together.

Key Facts

Seo and Kim combined for 11 titles last year, tied for the most in a single season.
They have not won a title since the Asian championships in April and have since taken two silver medals and three bronze medals in five international events.
At the China Masters last week, the top-seeded pair lost in the first round, their first opening-round defeat since reuniting in January 2025.
Seo won bronze in the men’s team event and mixed doubles at the 2023 Asian Games, while Kim won silver in men’s doubles with Choi Sol-gyu.
Seo and Kim previously lost in the round of 16 at the 2018 Asian Games, falling to Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 8, 2026 5:02 pm KST

Korean badminton doubles players Seo Seung-jae, right, and Kim Won-ho practice during an open training session at a media day hosted by the Badminton Korea Association at Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, Tuesday. Yonhap

JINCHEON — They are still the top-ranked men's doubles team in world badminton, but the Korean tandem of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho will limp into their second Asian Games together following a string of subpar performances.

Seo and Kim combined for 11 titles last year, tied for the most in a single season. This year, however, they have not lifted a trophy since the Asian championships in April, an eternity ago for a duo that dominated the sport just last season.

They have since collected two silver medals and three bronze medals in five international events, including a bronze at the world championships as they failed to defend their title.

Then at the China Masters last week, Seo and Kim lost in the first round despite being the top seed. This was their first opening-round loss at a tournament since reuniting as a team in January 2025 — following their first go-around together from 2017 to 2019.

At the 2023 Asian Games, Seo won bronze medals in the men's team event and the mixed doubles. Kim was on the men's team as well, and he collected silver in the men's doubles with a different partner, Choi Sol-gyu.

Seo and Kim lost in the round of 16 in their first Asian Games as a team in 2018, falling to the eventual silver medalists from Indonesia, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.

With the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games just days away, both Seo and Kim said Tuesday they will go for the gold medal, their recent form notwithstanding.

"This is our biggest competition of the year," Kim said at the national team press conference at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, 85 kilometers south of Seoul. "We want to stick to our process until the end and make sure we will not have any regrets when all is said and done."

Seo agreed that focusing on the process, not the outcome, will be the key for the duo.

"I know we have not played well lately. We have been thinking a lot about what we should do to play better and we have attempted many different things," Seo said. "At the Asian Games, rather than experimenting, we want to concentrate on what we do best. I believe we can play at a level that we are capable of playing."

Kim said that as their struggles continued, he and his partner might have lost the sight of what made them such a great tandem in the first place.

"I think we were maybe trying too hard to address our shortcomings on the fly," Kim said. "I think we started getting us away from things we do well. At the Asian Games, we will try to play with more confidence in ourselves."

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