Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Department of Sport Science doctoral candidate Yoo Hyun-sang (Advisor: Professor Han Dong-wook) won the Best Poster Award at the 2026 Annual Conference of the Korean Society of Sport Psychology for a study analyzing visual search characteristics in badminton defensive situations.

This award-winning study is a collaborative project titled 'Differences in Visual Search During Badminton Defense: A Preliminary Study for Comparing Field- and Screen-Based Research,' conducted by doctoral students Peng Ning, Ju Seon-yong, and Choi Hee-rim from the Department of Sport Science.

The research team compared and analyzed how players search for and use visual information in defensive badminton situations, and the visual search characteristics that appear in actual match environments versus screen-based experimental settings.

Badminton is a representative open motor skill sport in which players must predict and respond to the opponent's shot direction and speed within a very short time. Therefore, the use of visual information in defensive situations is evaluated as a factor that significantly affects performance.

The findings provided foundational data for understanding players' predictive ability and response strategies by comparing fixation duration, fixation frequency, and patterns of visual information use in defensive situations. In particular, confirming the differences in visual search characteristics between laboratory-based research and actual match environments added significance by highlighting the need for research designs that consider both ecological validity and experimental control in sport performance studies.

Professor Han Dong-wook said, 'This award recognizes the excellence of sport psychology and exercise science research that reflects actual game situations,' adding, 'It has once again demonstrated the scholarly and practical value of research applicable to the sports field.'

Meanwhile, Professor Han Dong-wook's research team at JBNU's Department of Sport Science conducts diverse research focused on visual search during sport performance, perceptual-cognitive strategies, motor learning, and mechanisms for improving performance.