"I think I've become a better badminton player thanks to my partner (Seo) Seung-jae. I'm most grateful and thankful to Seung-jae."
Kim Won-ho, a badminton player for Samsung Life Insurance, credited his partner when asked about winning the All England Open during an interview with Seoul Economic Daily on the 12th.
"After finishing the January tournament, I was worried because we didn't have opportunities to compete together in international events, but that concern was unfounded," Kim said. "Our chemistry returned to previous levels during training, so even though we competed again after a month and a half, there were no problems at all."
Kim and Seo achieved the remarkable feat of winning back-to-back men's doubles titles at the All England Open, the first Korean pair to do so in 40 years since Park Joo-bong and Kim Moon-soo won in 1985 and 1986.
Despite dominating the world as the strongest doubles pair ever, Kim still sees room for improvement.
"I was able to identify areas where I fell short during this All England Open," he said. "I think I need to play with more attention to stroke accuracy and course details, and train while thinking more about how to respond to different situations."
Having set a record-tying 11 titles in a single season in 2025 and winning back-to-back All England Opens, Kim was selected as the grand prize winner of the 72nd Korean Sport & Olympic Committee Sports Award. The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the 13th at the Champion House in Taereung Athletes' Village.
The KSOC Sports Grand Prize is awarded to athletes who have made significant contributions to sports development and promotion. Previous recipients include swimmer Park Tae-hwan (2007), weightlifter Jang Mi-ran (2008), speed skater Lee Sang-hwa (2014), and archers Lim Si-hyeon (2024) and Kim Woo-jin (2025).
"When I first heard the news of the award, I was bewildered," Kim said. "I didn't realize how significant this award was, but after receiving many congratulations, I felt 'I really did win a major award.'"
He added: "It's all thanks to Seung-jae. I'll think about how to properly express my gratitude after the award."
Kim is the son of Gil Young-ah, Samsung Life Insurance's head coach and mixed doubles gold medalist at the Atlanta Olympics. Together with Seo, he achieved unparalleled success in 2025.
Kim and Seo briefly paired in 2017 and 2018 before going separate ways. They reunited and won a record-tying 11 titles in a single season last year. After winning the World Championships in Paris last September, Kim rose to world No. 1 in the Badminton World Federation men's doubles rankings, the first Korean to do so in nine years since Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong.
