There was an upset in the men’s singles final of the badminton event at the 59th national juvenile sports schools contest in 2023.

Ri Jong Song from the badminton group at Moranbong District Extracurricular Sports School in Pyongyang performed a stunning comeback at the third round, with the score being 20-15. Another deficit meant defeat for Ri.

At this critical moment he remembered what his father had told him: “You should remain alert till the ball hits down the opponent’s area, and try not to be on the defensive to the last.”

He pulled himself together and began to score by hitting drives consecutively.

The score reached 20-20.

Taking advantage of the confusion and impatience on the part of the opponent, Ri scored two points in a row, winning the match.

Both umpires and spectators unanimously said that he deserved credit as he belongs to a family of badminton players.

As they said, Ri’s family is devoted to badminton.

His brother and cousins are all playing for sports clubs as coaches and players.

His father is an instructor for the badminton group at Moranbong District Extracurricular Sports School.

With this background, Ri liked to play badminton from his childhood.

His parents would not allow him to have a playing career, for their eldest son was playing badminton for the Amnokgang Sports Club.

With an attachment to the sport, however, Ri said to his parents his intention to take up badminton when he entered a junior middle school.

He insisted that he would practise badminton under the guidance of his father at Moranbong District Extracurricular Sports School.

“I wanted to keep the family tradition alive, but, to be frank, I hoped for some care of my father,” Ri recalled. “But he was not as generous at school as he was at home. He was so demanding.”

As he played with racket and shuttlecock since his childhood, badminton was none too unfamiliar to him. But he found himself so much backward in basic techniques compared with other group members.

He undauntedly trained harder and harder. There were no holidays and days off for him. Once he was so exhausted that he collapsed on the bed without having supper.

But he got up on time next morning and started his routine with morning jog as usual. And he did not come back home before he finished his daily training task.

In particular, he redoubled efforts to refine his forte suited to his constitutional features. In badminton, forte is as crucial as in other sports. This was his father’s motto and what his brothers experienced in matches. As a left-hander, he made strenuous efforts to hone his tactics suited to his physical features.

His ability improved day by day, and after a year he stood on a par with his seniors. Ri made his successful debut at the 59th national juvenile sports schools contest, in which he bagged two gold medals and two bronze medals.

He swept the singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team events at the 60th national sports schools contest in 2024, lifting four gold medals and a trophy.

Experts said that Ri had a good sense of competition and is physically strong, adding that his attack was so sharp and powerful that he was always completely dominant in the matches.

“I am the youngest or the ninth player in my family, but I will try to be always the first in the results,” said Ri Jong Song holding his trophy.

Kim Ye Ryong