“Korea can also make the semifinals, finals, and championships.”
The Korean men’s tennis team succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 for the first time in two consecutive years at the Davis Cup, the national men’s tennis competition.
Park Seung-gyu (51, KDB Industrial Bank), the national team coach, was behind the good performances of Kwon Soon-woo (Dangjin City Hall), Hong Seong-chan (Sejong City Hall), Song Min-gyu (KDB Industrial Bank), and Nam Ji-seong (Sejong City Hall), who defeated strong Belgium.
Regarding the 2023 Davis Cup final match between Korea and Belgium held at the Olympic Park Indoor Tennis Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 4th and 5th, Park said, “We tried to lead well in an atmosphere where we work hard together and work hard together.” He said in a phone call with Newsis on the 8th.
He said that after giving away the first and second singles on the first day, he tried to encourage the players’ will so that the next day’s game would not be hindered.
Coach Park said, “Compared to Belgium, it was true that we ran a little bit in terms of power.” tried,” he said. He also added, “The players and coaching staff were desperate. So I think it went well.”
On the second day, the 5th, the Korean national team won all 3 matches (2 singles, 1 doubles) and won the final 3-2, securing a ticket to the round of 16.
In response, coach Park said of the group stage of the round of 16 in September, “I played the round of 16 once last year. I, the players, and the coaching staff all know how to prepare and what to do on the spot.” Thanks to last year’s experience, this year’s challenge is expected to be a better opportunity.
He also revealed his aspirations to win. Coach Park nailed it, “The goal is to win.” He said, “I really don’t know about the match. When Korea faced Canada in the first round last year, (many people) didn’t think Canada would win,” he said. “But Canada won. There’s nothing we can’t do.” insisted. Last year, Canada tasted its first Davis Cup title.
Regarding the national team schedule, he showed a cautious attitude, saying, “It’s a bit difficult to answer ‘how to do it’ now.” Each player has a busy game schedule, so it is difficult to schedule the game until September. While checking where and how the players are playing, he promised to take care of the players’ schedules and conditions.
At the same time, he did not hide his faith in the team. Director Park said, “(Kwon) Soon-woo is not a part that can be (guiding) a lot from the side (because he’s busy). I always watch it on the other side, such as on TV,” but “(Kwon) Soon-woo is always reliable. Our country’s ace.” sent. He continued, “Ace has a role. I think (Kwon) Soon-woo can do a lot in that part.”
Then, “(Song) Mingyu, (South) Jiseong, and (Hong) Seongchan are still going together. We have been doing challenge matches until now. I have been watching that player,” he said, “I always trust all the players and go.” said.
As a player, coach Park won the men’s singles championship at the 2001 Busan Open Tennis Championships and the men’s doubles championship at the 57th All Korea Tennis Championships in 2002. He continued his playing career until the age of 36 and took over as manager at his team Industrial Bank. Now he has become a 5th year director at Industrial Bank.
But as a player, he has no experience wearing the Taegeuk mark. Instead, he joined the Incheon Asian Games as a coach in 2014 and built a career as a national team leader. Since last year, he has been coaching the national team at the Davis Cup.
He confessed, “Actually, I wanted to play for the national team once when I was a player. I wanted to wear a national flag and compete in a national competition once, but I couldn’t.” In addition, he said, “(As a coach), there was always the pride of the national team,” and “I learned a lot while experiencing the national team coach.”
This year’s Davis Cup round of 16 competition will be held on September 12-17. The 16 countries are divided into 4 groups to play the group stage, and the top 2 countries advance to the quarterfinals.
Korea has experienced the Davis Cup round of 16 four times before, but has never won a victory. 토토사이트