Korean Reaches UK Badminton Open Semis JANUARY 24, 2006 03:01 by Jong-Seok Kim (kjs0123@donga.com) “I wanted to run around waving the Korean Flag,” said a visibly disappointed Lee Hyun-il (26, Gimcheon City Hall, photo), the men’s singles semifinalist at the All England Open Badminton Championships. In an interview after his defeat in the men’s final on January 23 in Birmingham, Lee admitted that he was thinking about his victory celebration on his way to the final match from his hotel. “I wasn’t nervous,” Lee said. “I didn’t want to leave any regrets, but he was too fast.” Lee is the oldest member of the national badminton team participating in the championship, but he is still considered a member of Korean badminton’s next generation. He does not like rules; he likes his individuality. The national badminton team was in shock when he had his ears pierced two years ago. That sort of thing had never been done before. “Earrings or not, I’m good,” Lee said. Lee insisted on wearing his earrings to leave a strong impression on his fans. “I’m a real pro,” Lee said. “I work hard and play hard. I don’t need people letting me know what I need to do.” He missed the 2002 Busan Asia Games and took a two-month break due to a bungee-jumping injury. His attitude makes it easier for him to rebound from slumps. After failing to make the final 16 in the 2004 Athens Olympics, he quit playing for six months and gained eight kilograms in disappointment. But when he got back into badminton late last year, his game returned. Lee became the first Korean player to win the Indonesian Open last September, and he has been on a roll ever since. Aiming for the Gold in December- Lee’s next goal is to win a gold medal at the Doha Asia Games that will be held in Qatar in December. The closest Korea has ever gotten to winning an international badminton singles title were Seong Han-guk’s semi-final run in 1986, and Lee Gwang-jin and Park Seong-wu’s semi-final runs in 1996. “I don’t cut my fingernails before a big match. It’s time to cut them and regain some calm,” said Lee. Meanwhile, Lee became the first Korean-born silver medalist in the men’s All England Open Championships singles. Lee, ranked number five in the world, was beaten by number one-ranked Lin Dan of China, 0-2. The set scores were 7-15 and 7-15. Meanwhile, China’s duo of Gao Ling and Huang Sui won for the sixth straight year, sweeping medals in four categories out of five. Korea came home with a silver in the men’s singles and third place in the pair doubles and women’s doubles.
Wow bungee jumping injury... this guy sounds awesome! What about Shon-Seung Mo's silver medal in Athens? I love how he was dissapointed he didn't get to run around waving the Korean Flag . Its funny
What a terrible article. I can understand calling Lee a semi-finalist if the article had come out before his win over Gade that sent him to the finals but the article quotes him after his loss to Lin Dan in the finals! He didn't miss the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. I was there. He won gold in the men's team and silver in the men's singles individual. What is the writer's definition of "an international badminton singles title"? Lee won a pile of titles in 2002/2003 when he was ranked #1 in the world. I remember the Dutch Open was one. He won the Indonesian Open in the fall. Someone needs to do some fact-checking. It looks like it was intended as a newspaper article. Where did you find it, cooler?
Right. I should have known. Mostly translation problems. Nothing to write to the writer about. "runner-up" mistranslated as "semi-finalist". The original does say he was hurt bunji jumping and had to rest for 2 months prior to the 2002 Asian Games but it doesn't actually say he missed it. Translator jumped to conclusions. The writer also did not say "The closest Korea has ever gotten to winning an international badminton singles were..." either. He mentioned these as the best ever men's singles performances in the All England but did it in a same paragraph that started out by saying that Lee wanted to re-write Korean badminton history by winning gold at this year's Asian Games. The translator again got confused and jumped to conclusions. So presumably the writer would concede both mine and Eurasian's points about Shon and Lee's recent results.
He has a good cross court net shot. Hardly ever see him smash and follow up with a drive/kill at the net, he usually finishes with a hightake cross court netshot. Well, hardly ever see him smash. But his cross court net shot is so deadly, and he takes it so fast.
That's true that Lee Hyunil didn't play quite a while. At this German Open 2006 his weight is exact 7 kilos less than last German Open 2005.
Even if he lost , he is still waving the Korean flag. It shows when you play your best and make your country proud.