Kim Sa-rang (badminton)

Kim Sa-rang started playing badminton when he was in elementary school, and his international debut on the Osaka International tournament. He joined the Korea national badminton team in 2008.[1] At that year, he won the Australia International Challenge tournament in the men's doubles event partnered with Choi Sang-won.[3] In 2011, he won the Turkey International tournament in the men's doubles event with Kim Gi-jung.[4]

In 2012, he and Kim Gi-jung won their first Superseries title at the Japan Open tournament. In the final round they beat the Malaysian pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong.[5] At the 2012 Badminton Asia Championships in Qingdao, China, they won a gold medal after defeat Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan in the final round.[6] In September 2012, they also won the men's doubles title at the Indonesian Masters tournament.[7]

In 2013, he became the champion at the Chinese Taipei and South Korea Grand Prix Gold tournament. At the Chinese Taipei, he and Kim Gi-jung beat the host partner Lee Sheng-mu and Tsai Chia-hsin in the straight set. At the Korea, they won the title after beat their compatriots Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol with the score 2–1.[8][9] He also won a silver medal at the 2013 Badminton Asia Championships in Taipei.[10] At the 2013 BWF World Championships in Guangzhou, he and his partner were seeded fifth in that tournament. They beat the second seeded of Malaysia in the quarterfinal round, and in the semifinal round they were defeated by Boe and Mogensen in three sets, and settle for the bronze medal.[11] At the end of the 2013 BWF Season, he qualified to compete at the Super Series Masters Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Finally, he became the runner-up in the men's doubles event after defeated by Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.[12] In 2014, he won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in the men's doubles event.[13]

In 2015, he and Kim Gi-jung won the Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold tournament in the men's doubles event. In the final round they beat Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-cheol with the score 16–21, 21–18, 21–19.[14] They also won the China Open Super Series Premier tournament, after beat Chai Biao and Hong Wei in the straight games.[15] In 2016, they also won the Superseries Premier tournament in Malaysia. He and his partner beat the third seeded from China in the quarterfinal round, and the world No.1 pair, Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong in the semifinal. In the final round they beat Chai Biao and Hong Wei with the score 21–19, 21–15.[16] He and Kim Sa-rang also competed at the Summer Olympics in the men's doubles event. They lost in the quarterfinal round, defeated by Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan of China with the score 21–11, 18-21 and 22–24.[17] After the Rio Olympics, he decided to retire from the national team, and on 31 October 2016, BWF sites officially announced his retirement.[18][19] However, in 2018 he has since played as an independent player separate from the BKA with the Malaysian former world number one, Tan Boon Heong, in the Macau Open and Korea Masters.[20]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kim Sa-rang (badminton).

• Kim Sa-rang at BWF.tournamentsoftware.com