Kim Ki Jung & Kim Sa Rang - The next big thing

**Giga01** · 10-07-2012, 09:08 AM

Being the current Asian Champions and winning their first super series I think this pair deserves their own thread.

Only 22(Kim Sa Rang) and 21(Kim Ki Jung) years old this pair is undoubtedly one of the new upcoming pairs to watch! They won their first title together 2011 at the Turkiye International, and later in 2012 they reached the semifinal at the Victor Korea Open, only to lose vs fellow Koreans Lee Yong Dae and Jung Jae Sung.

They participated in the Yonex All England 2012 championship but lost in the first round vs the 5 seeds Chai Biao and Guo Zhendong by a score of 21-18 18-21 26-24.
In the following tournament(Swiss Open) they had to retire in the first round.

Then came their breakthrough: The Asia Championship 2012.
Coming into the tournament as an unseeded pair they beat 4 seeded pairs to win the championship including the first seeds Chai Biao and Guo Zhendong in the semi-final by a score of 21-17 21-9.

Now after winning 1 Super series event in Japan and 1 Grand Prix in Indonesia event they are the number 10 ranked pair in the world, and in my mind they will continue to climb much, much higher.

**SolsticeOfLight** · 10-07-2012, 12:40 PM

Unless one if fostered onto team Yong Dae...

**Ferrerkiko** · 10-07-2012, 06:02 PM

Looks like Jang Sung retired soon , why not Kim Ki Jung & Kim Sa Rang, one of them replace JJS partner Lee Yong Dae ....?

**event** · 10-07-2012, 06:12 PM

Actually, in August, they turned 23 and 22 respectively. They are still young, though, and have lots of potential.

**nizze** · 10-08-2012, 05:22 AM

I agree. IMHO, they could be the next "Li Yong Dae/Jung Jae Sung" of their time.... Kim Sa Rang style of play really remind me of Li Yong Dae while Kim Ki Jung could follow in JJS footsteps. I guess what is they need now is to gain more experience and exposure. They will be a force to reckon with in time to come.

**Giga01** · 10-08-2012, 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by event

Actually, in August, they turned 23 and 22 respectively. They are still young, though, and have lots of potential.

Thank you for pointing that out! They are indeed a very young pair, and one advantage I think they have over some pairs is the fact that they are about the same age!
Whereas in some pairs there is a huge difference in age between the players so that one retires before the other(LYD&JJS etc) I think these two could stick together for a very long time. They are already playing so well with each other so I am really looking forward to what a few more years of partnering could bring.
Let's hope that they get the chance to play together for many years to come.

**Ferrerkiko** · 10-08-2012, 06:54 AM

So any badminton fans know after JJS retired, who partner Lee Yong dae ?

**demolidor** · 10-08-2012, 06:57 AM

Let me quote myself for some additional info:

03-06-2011 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by demolidor

Who knows they might be the second coming of KKK/TBH

, already caught my attention early in Korean Open

. Had no idea then Kim Sa Rang had only just switched from MS to MD

, thought they were some junior pair ...

05-21-2011 12:54 AM

Originally Posted by demolidor

From Badzine

"The Korean National Badminton Team has decided on its entire doubles roster on the eve of the departure for Qingdao of its twelve-member Sudirman Cup squad.

All but one of the 8 doubles players bound for Qingdao were exempt from the qualifying tests of the past few days and all of the other stalwarts re-affirmed their places on the team. In addition, 8 new members were selected with 7 others being let go. The most notable casualty was German Open runner-up Kim Sa Rang, who made the transition from singles to doubles in January but has since been left off both teams, for now."

Continue reading: http://www.badzine.net/news/korea-do...shuffle/14476/

04-22-2012 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by demolidor

They were already up and coming in 2011. First tournament together was Korean PSS and I happened to see their first round match and was immediately impressed (by their speed and defense). But Kim Sa Rang failed to make the national selection at the trials later/ was deemed not good enough/ kicked out (wouldn't be a surprise with that smug grin he has

), and they were split until rejoined in December of 2011 ...

In any case, glad to see they added some hardware

Kim Sa Rang (L) and Kim Ki Jung (R) of South Korea pose on the podium during the awards ceremony after their men's doubles final match against Hayakawa Kenichi and Endo Hiroyuki of Japan of the Badminton Asia Championships in China's northeastern coastal city of Qingdao on April 22, 2012. The South Korean pair won 21-12, 21-16. AFP PHOTO / LIU JIN

**Ferrerkiko** · 10-14-2012, 08:39 AM

Any victor fans know what racket they are using ?

**apachesun** · 10-14-2012, 08:50 AM