# Kang Kyung-jin

Kang Kyung-jin (Korean: 강경진; Hanja: 姜京珍; born 24 March 1973) is a former badminton player and coach from South Korea. He was the men's doubles champion at the 1997 All England Open and 1998 Asian Championships. He competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

## Early life

The left-handler Kang Kyung-jin, began to play badminton when he was in the third grade of Dongdaegu Elementary School, recognized by his teacher who is also a badminton coach in a club. In the beginning, he wanted to be a baseball player, following his father, who was also a baseball player.

## Career

As a player, Kang was best known for winning the 1997 All England Open men's doubles title with Ha Tae-kwon. In the same year, Kang and Ha also won major titles at the Swedish Open and the Korea Open and the following year, they won the Badminton Asia Championships. In the 1994 Asian Games, he won two silver medals, in mixed doubles and in the men's team event.

### Coach

Kang graduated from Inha University, and after that he started his career as a coach in Gangnam-gu office team. He later was selected to join the national team as men's doubles coach in 2003, and took part at the Summer Olympics from 2004–2016, with his best achievements was managed to lead Ha Tae-kwon and Kim Dong-moon to win a gold medal in 2004. He spent one year as the head coach of the national junior team, and then Kang was named as the head coach of the senior national team in December 2016, with his term to run from 1 January 2017 to 30 October 2018. Following the Korean team's disappointing results at the 2018 Asian Games, Kang with some of Korean coaching staff were fired by the Badminton Korea Association (BKA). In September 2019, he was hired to join Chinese national team coaching staff, and made history in China badminton as the first foreign coach on their team.

## Personal life

Kang wife, Park Soo-yun, is also a former badminton player.

## Achievements
### World Championships

Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1991 | Brøndby Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark | Shim Eun-jung | Thomas Lund Pernille Dupont | 7–15, 17–15, 7–15 | Bronze |

### Asian Games

Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1994 | Tsuru Memorial Gymnasium, Hiroshima, Japan | Jang Hye-ock | Yoo Yong-sung Chung So-young | 10–15, 12–15 | Silver |

### Asian Championships

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1996 | Pancasila Hall, Surabaya, Indonesia | Ha Tae-kwon | Ade Sutrisna Candra Wijaya | 8–15, 17–15, 11–15 | Silver |
| 1998 | Nimibutr Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Ha Tae-kwon | Zhang Jun Zhang Wei | 12–15, 15–11, 15–13 | Gold |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1996 | Pancasila Hall, Surabaya, Indonesia | Kim Mee-hyang | Tri Kusharjanto Lili Tampi | 1–15, 6–15 | Silver |

### Asian Cup

Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1996 | Olympic Gymnasium No. 2, Seoul, South Korea | Kim Mee-hyang | Park Joo-bong Ra Kyung-min | 6–15, 8–15 | Silver |

### East Asian Games

Men's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1993 | Shanghai, China | Kim Chul-joong | Huang Zhanzhong Liu Di | 5–15, 15–6, 7–15 | Bronze |

### IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) since 1983.
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1995 | Swedish Open | Kim Dong-moon | Peter Axelsson Pär-Gunnar Jönsson | 5–15, 9–15 | Runner-up |
| 1995 | Canadian Open | Ha Tae-kwon | Kim Dong-moon Yoo Yong-sung | 12–15, 15–6, 15–8 | Winner |
| 1995 | Hong Kong Open | Ha Tae-kwon | Rudy Gunawan Bambang Suprianto | 17–15, 12–15, 15–3 | Winner |
| 1996 | Thailand Open | Ha Tae-kwon | Sigit Budiarto Candra Wijaya | 11–15, 15–10, 12–15 | Runner-up |
| 1997 | Korea Open | Ha Tae-kwon | Cheah Soon Kit Yap Kim Hock | 4–15, 15–3, 15–5 | Winner |
| 1997 | Swedish Open | Ha Tae-kwon | Peter Axelsson Pär-Gunnar Jönsson | 15–3, 15–11 | Winner |
| 1997 | All England Open | Ha Tae-kwon | Jon Holst-Christensen Michael Søgaard | 15–11, 17–16 | Winner |
| 2001 | U.S. Open | Park Young-duk | Yousuke Nakanishi Shinya Ohtsuka | 7–0, 7–3, 7–3 | Winner |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 1995 | Canadian Open | Kim Mee-hyang | Kim Dong-moon Gil Young-ah | 7–15, 8–15 | Runner-up |

### IBF International

Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2005 | Canadian International | Han Sung-wook | Jung Sung-gyun Park Young-sang | 15–12, 15–13 | Winner |
Men's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 2005 | Canadian International | Ha Jung-eun | Han Sung-wook Joo Hyun-hee | 15–12, 15–13 | Winner |