Northern Marianas Badminton Association members and officials join South Korean Ji Woong Jung, center, for a photo after the clinic, Sunday, at the TSL Sports Complex. Contributed photo
Jung worked with NMBA players on Sunday and Monday, demonstrating basic movement and footwork and other helpful drills. NMBA officials and members as well as players who represented the CNMI to the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa attended the brief sessions.
“We are very thankful to Mr. Jung for taking time out from his short vacation on Saipan to reach out to our players and share his skills to us. Since we started the organization, it’s been a challenge for our players to get coaching so every opportunity to learn from someone who has experience and knowledge in the sport is very much welcome,” NMBA president Merlie Tolentino said
Jung, through interpreter Tommy Kim, said he is pleased to find out badminton is an active sport on island and he is happy to help the players, especially the young ones. He added that he felt it’s like a mission for him to come to Saipan and meet national players
When asked to assess CNMI players, he said they have good competition skills and if you add technical and physical strengths to it that would make them more successful in tournaments.
Jung admitted he did not have a lot of time to discuss the technical side of the sport, so he will be back on Saipan this April to conduct longer sessions.
