Ahn Jae Chang’s future as the head coach of South Korea hangs by a thread. The Badminton Korea Association (BKA) will hold a board meeting tomorrow to decide whether to retain him as head coach or appoint a new person for the job.
Ahn’s current tenure ended in September 2020 (after the original dates of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic).
Ahn Jae Chang was appointed as the head coach in December 2018 with the herculean task of reviving the Korean team and with targets of medals at the Tokyo Olympics. His appointment was on the backdrop of the dismal performance of the Korean team under Kang Kyung Jin at the 2018 Asian Games.
Ahn has produced good results while working with the young crop of Korean players, but is far from best. Currently, the Korean team doesn’t have a single player/pair in the top 3 world rankings in any category.
An extension of his contract is the logical decision keeping in mind that the Olympics is just 9 months away from now. The Olympics in 2021 can give Ahn a chance to prove his worth. Bringing in a new coach may bring chaos to the setup in the training camp, let alone the fact that the new head coach will have no liability if the Korean team fares poorly at the Olympics.
However, the case is not that simple for Ahn. His involvement in the “double contract” controversy of Seo Seung Jae has led to a faction of the BKA turning against him. The controversy was reported to be seen as a public shame on the national association.
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