Yoo Tae-bin (Gimcheon City Hall) won a bronze medal in men's singles badminton at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. This marks the first time a Korean player has medaled in men's singles at the Asian Games since Park Sung-hwan at the 2010 Guangzhou Games.
Ranked 46th in the world, Yoo lost to Singapore's Loh Kean Yew, ranked 13th, in the semifinals on September 28 at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, with a score of 1-2 (19-21, 21-19, 12-21).
Yoo secured the bronze medal in his first appearance at the Asian Games. In badminton, there is no separate bronze medal match; both losing semifinalists receive a bronze medal.
During the tournament, Yoo achieved an upset by defeating higher-ranked players to reach the semifinals. He first defeated world No. 11 Lin Chun-yi (Taiwan) 2-0 in the round of 32, followed by a 2-0 victory over China's world No. 1, Sui Wenjing, in the round of 16. Sui had won the world championship last year.
In the quarterfinals, Yoo overcame Japan's world No. 7, Naraoka Kodai, with a score of 2-1 (12-21, 21-5, 21-11), coming back after losing the first game.
In the semifinals, Yoo faced Loh in a three-game match. After losing the first game 19-21, he won the second game 21-19, leveling the match. However, he fell behind 6-11 at the interval in the third game and ultimately lost 12-21.
Since Park Sung-hwan's bronze medal in men's singles at the 2010 Guangzhou Games, South Korea has not won a medal in this event at the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou Games.
Yoo has been improving his international ranking since last year, achieving runner-up finishes at the Taiwan Open and Korea Masters this year. He concluded his first Asian Games with a bronze medal after defeating several top-ranked players.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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