Kim Dong-moon and Na Kyung-min Pair Win 11th In A Row

The worlds best mixed doubles badminton pair, Kim Dong-Moon (Samsung Elec.) and Na Kyung-Min (Dae-Kyo Noonnopee), recorded numerous wins with 11 consecutive wins in international competitions.

Ranked number one in the world, the Kim-Na pair edged the number two ranked pair from China, Zhang-Jun and Gao-ling, with a set score of 2-0 and held on to the championship in the 2004 Swiss Open mixed doubles finals which took place in Basel, Switzerland on March 8.

The Kim-Na team lit up their prospects in the 2004 Athens Olympics as they maintained an 11 to three win superiority over the Jang-Gao team which gave them a dreadful defeat in the 2000 Sydney Olympics quarter-final round and 2001 world championship finals.

Kim and Na have made a brilliant achievement with their 55 consecutive wins in 11 international matches starting from last year April’s Korean open. They tied the mark with a winning streak of 11, which the previous team of Thomas Lund and Marlin Thomas had notched. The longest consecutive winning streak in the history of all categories of badminton belongs to China’s Geipai and Gujoon, with triumphs in 24 successive competitions (80 consecutive wins).

The team of Kim and Na, who participated in the first international match finals, was expected to suffer a slug-fest, but wrapped up the first set 15-12 and acquired a 15-8 second set win with the harmony of Kim Dong-Moon’s powerful smashes and Na Kyung-Min’s stable defense in 38 minutes.

The Kim-Na pair will move to Birmingham, England for the world’s most prestigious competition, the All England championships, which will be held on the ninth, and challenge for their twelfth consecutive match win.

Sang-Ho Kim hyangsan@donga.com