Lee Yong-dae

This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.
Lee Yong-dae
Personal information
Born September 11, 1988 (1988-09-11) (age 23)
Hwasun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 73 kg (160 lb; 11.5 st)
Country  South Korea
Years active 2003-Present
Handedness Right
Coach Ha Tae-kwon
Mixed & Men's doubles
Highest Ranking 1 (in XD)
1 (in MD) (January, 2009)
Current Ranking 23 (in XD)
2 (in MD) (October 24, 2011[1])
Medal record
Competitor for  South Korea
Men's badminton
Olympic Games
Gold 2008 Beijing Mixed doubles
World Championships
Silver 2009 Hyderabad Men's doubles
Silver 2007 Kuala Lumpur Men's doubles
Bronze 2011 London Men's doubles
Bronze 2009 Hyderabad Mixed doubles
Asian Games
Silver 2010 Guangzhou Men's team
Silver 2006 Doha Men's team
Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Men's doubles
Bronze 2006 Doha Men's doubles
Sudirman Cup
Silver 2009 Guangzhou Team
Bronze 2007 Glasgow Team
Thomas Cup
Silver 2008 Jakarta Team
BWF Profile

Lee Yong-dae (Hangul: 이용대; Hanja: 李龍大; born September 11, 1988 in Hwasun, Jeollanam-do) is a male badminton player from South Korea. He is considered by many to be a great talent and already a wonderful doubles player. His current partners are Jung Jae-sung in men's doubles (as of 2006) and Lee Hyo-jung in mixed doubles (as of 2007).

Contents

Early life

Lee Yong Dae started playing badminton at his local elementary school at the age of 8. His youth club is Samsung Electromechanics. He joined the national badminton team of South Korea in 2003, at the age of just 15 years old.[2]

Career

2003

Lee participated in the OCBC/Yonex US Open, where he played in both the Men Doubles and Singles category. For both events, he was ousted in the second round. [3]

2004

Lee started off 2004 with the French Open International, where he played the men singles, men doubles (with Jung Jung Yong) and mixed doubles (with Kang Hae Won) category. In the Mixed Doubles event, the pair managed to reach the semi-finals, before losing to the Russians. [4] He also participated in several tournaments without much results. In the Vietnam Satellite, he reached the quarter-finals in the Mixed Doubles category, partnering Oh Seul Ki.

2005

Still struggling to find the right partner, he played several tournaments without getting any big results. However, he did reach the finals of the Cheers Asian Satellite in the mixed doubles and the men doubles category. With Ha Jung-eun as his partner, he won Asian Junior Badminton Championships.

2006

In July, Lee captured three gold medals at the Asian Junior Championships in Cheras, Malaysia where he played a pivotal role to secure the boys doubles and mixed doubles victories for South Korea and frustrate Malaysia in the mixed team final.

In November, Lee made another gold medal hat trick at the BWF World Junior Championships where he led Team Korea to their first world junior championship, never allowing any single set in boys doubles, mixed doubles and mixed team event through the tournament.

Lee won the Thailand Open together with Ha Jung-eun; they had a walkover in the final against compatriots Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man. Together with Hwang Yu-mi, Lee won the mixed doubles tournament.

At the Asian Games, Lee and Jung became bronze medalists after losing the semi-finals to Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto of Indonesia in the individual men's doubles event. In the team event, South Korea lost to China in the final 2-3, thus gaining Lee a silver medal.

2007

In January, Lee and Jung participated in the Malaysia Open, the first ever BWF Super Series event. There they got through the first round but had to resign due to injury. However a week later they blew away competition to take the first prize at the Korea Open. On top of that, Lee also won the mixed doubles with Lee Hyo-jung. Lee and Jung lost to Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man in the final of the German Open; in mixed doubles Lee and Lee lost to Zheng Bo and Gao Ling of China in the semi-finals. Zheng and Gao went on to win the tournament.

At the Swiss Open, Lee and Lee took another title, winning the final in three games. For the rest of the year there were no good results in mixed doubles for Lee, mainly because he didn't participate or played with another partner. In men's doubles, he and Jung were eliminated in a disappointing second round.

Lee participated in the 2007 Sudirman Cup with the South Korea team. The team lost to China in the semi-finals with a score of 0-3.

In July, after a period of disappointing results in men's doubles, Lee became runner-up with Jung at the Thailand Open, losing to Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man. Not much later, the pair went on to take the silver medal in the 2007 BWF World Championships. They were defeated in the final by Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, 19-21, 19-21. In mixed doubles, Lee reached the third round with Lee Hyo-jung. There they lost to Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson of England in three games. With Jung Jae-sung, the rest of the year also resulted in quite disappointing achievements, as he failed to pass the quarterfinals in any major events, except in the French Open. Lee and Jung there lost to the eventual winners, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China.

2008

To start 2008, Lee, together with Jung, disappointingly lost to an unseeded pair in the second round of the Malaysia Open. Mixed doubles went better for Lee and Lee this time, finishing as runners-up. They lost to He Hanbin and Yu Yang of China. In Korea, things went a bit better in men's doubles, achieving a quarterfinal. Lee and Jung lost to runners-up Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto of Indonesia there, but in mixed doubles Lee and Lee won the title against Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa of Indonesia.

More than a month later, Lee and Jung came back with a bang to win the All England Open of 2008, beating Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah in a thrilling semi-final (coming back from a 16-20 deficit in the third game) and Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man, also from Korea, in the final. In mixed doubles Lee lost in the quarterfinals to eventual winners Zheng Bo and Gao Ling. A week later, Lee was victorious with Jung in the Swiss Open too. In mixed doubles they lost against He Hanbin and Yu Yang, both of who went on to the semi-finals.

At the Badminton Asia Championships Lee and Jung became winners, beating Candra Wijaya and Nova Widianto of Indonesia in the final.

Lee and Jung pair were the only ones to score a point for South Korea against China in the Thomas Cup final, which ended in a 3-1 win for China.

Olympics

Not having participated in the two following Super Series events, supposedly because of their preparations for the Summer Olympics, Lee was disappointingly knocked out in the first round in Beijing with Jung. However, Lee and Lee upset the badminton world and went on to get the gold medal in mixed doubles, becoming the youngest gold medalists in Olympic badminton.

2009

Lee Yong-dae started a bright year when he and Jung Jae-sung won the Malaysia Super Series. In Korea Super Series, Lee won the mixed doubles title with Lee Hyo-jung, while he and Jung only became the finalists. However, as Jung had to join the military service for two months, Lee paired with Shin Baek-cheol and claimed the German Open title. In the Swiss Open Super Series, Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung reached the mixed doubles final but failed to capture the trophy as they lost to China's Zheng Bo and Ma Jin. A month later, they subdued teammates Yoo Yeon-seong and Kim Min-jung to clinch the Asian Badminton Championship title.

In the Sudirman Cup on May 10–17, Lee Yong-dae brought South Korea to the final to meet defending champion China. Lee always won in both the men's doubles and mixed doubles events. However, in the final, he and Lee Hyo-jung bowed to Zheng Bo and Yu Yang, while a few hours later he and Jung Jae-sung also surrendered to Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng. China then won the cup for the consecutive third time 3-0.

In June, Lee Yong-dae played in the Singapore Open Super Series, but he did not win any title. In Indonesia, a week later, nevertheless, he reached both the finals of men's doubles and mixed doubles event. Again, he and Lee Hyo-jung were defeated by Zheng Bo and Ma Jin, the Chinese pair who beat them in Singapore semi-final. Happily, he took the men's doubles title with Jung Jae-sung, conquering China's top pair Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.

In August, Lee Yong-dae participated in the BWF World Championships in Hyderabad, India. Unfortunately, in the mixed event, he and Lee Hyo-jung, seeded first, lost to Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark, who later became the champions. He had a better run with Jung Jae-sung in the men's doubles, reaching the final. They met Cai and Fu again, and this time, they lost.

In November, after a two-month absence due to injury, Lee Yong-dae returned to play in Hong Kong Open Super Series. Though he and Lee Hyo-jung lost in the first round, he fared better in the men's doubles with Jung Jae-sung. In the final, they defeated Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark.

Only a week later, Lee successfully defended his two titles in China Open Super Series. He and Lee Hyo-jung beat Zheng Bo and Ma Jin in the mixed doubles final. With Jung, he defeated Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong in men's doubles final.

In December, Lee and Jung participated in Super Series Finals in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Unbelievably, they did not drop a single set from the group stage to the final. In the final, they outclassed Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen, whom they had subdued in the group stage.

2010

On January 17, Lee Yong-dae successfully started the 2010 year by winning Korea Open Super Series in Seoul with Jung Jae-sung. In the final, the top seeds defeated Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China 21-11, 14-21, and 21-18.

However, in the mixed doubles, Lee who paired with Lee Hyo-jung were subdued 13-21 and 16-21 by Chinese pair Tao Jiaming and Zhang Yawen in the first round. The same pair defeated Lee and Lee in the second round of Malaysia Open a week later without a match.

In March's All England, Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung reached the semi-finals, playing Widhianto/Natsir. The third seeds lost to the Indonesian pair 16-21, 21-18, and 8-21.

With Jung Jae-sung in the men's doubles, Lee only made it to the quarter-finals, defeated 18-21, 10-21 by Xu Chen and Guo Zhendong of China.

Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung grabbed their first title of the year in Swiss Open Super Series after subduing compatriots Shin Baek-cheol and Yoo Hyun-young in straight sets, 21-14 and 21-18.

Lee Yong-dae was absence in Thomas Cup due to injury. However, his comeback was successful as he and Jung Jae-sung won the first tournament they play after the injury, Taiwan Grand Prix Gold. The third seeds beat compatriot Cho Gun-woo and Kwon Yi-goo.

In the Asian Games in November, Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung helped South Korea men's team to reach the final. They beat Chinese Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng in the final, yet Korea was failed to win the gold medal as China downed Korea 3-1.

For the individual event, Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung gained the bronze medal after beaten by Indonesia's Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan in the last four.

2011

Yong-dae started the 2011 season with a not-so-satisfying result in the Super Series Finals in Taiwan as he and Jung Jae-sung only became the finalist.

However, their disappointment disappeared after they became the first winner of Korea Open Super Series Premier in January. In the final, they conquered top-seeded Denmark's Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen easily, 21-6 and 21-13.

With the retirement of Lee Hyo-jung, Lee has repaired with Ha Jung-eun in the mixed doubles. They won the US Open Grand Prix Gold in July with a 21-19, 21-13 win over Taiwan's fifth-seeded Chen Hung-Ling and Cheng Wen-Hsing.

The next week, Yong-dae participated in the Yonex Canada Open at the Richmond Olympic Oval. With Ko Sung-hyun, he won the title. However, in the mixed doubles, Yong-dae and his partner, Ha Jung-eun, lost to qualifier Cheng Liu and Luo Ying in the second round.

In September, Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung won China Masters title after defeating China's Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng 21-17, 21-10. Lee also played in Japan Open, pairing with Ko Sung-hyun again, but they lost in the quarter-finals against Indonesia's Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan

On October 23, Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung once again defeated Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng 21-16, 21-17 to win Denmark Open Super Series Premier.

On October 30th Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-Sung were again victorious against Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng in three sets, 14-21 21-15 21-11, to win the French Super Series title.

Personal life

After winning the Olympic gold medal, Lee becomes so popular that the Korean people recognized him whenever he goes. At first, he felt difficult to move around, but he eventually got used to it and enjoyed the attention.[5]

Achievements

Men Doubles

Year Tournament Venue Round
2011
2011 BWF Superseries Final Liuzhou, China Semi-Finalist
2011 Li Ning China Open Shanghai, China Semi-Finalist
2011 Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open Hong Kong Runner-up
2011 Yonex French Open Super Series Paris Winner
2011 Yonex Denmark Open Super Series Premier Denmark Winner
2011 Li Ning China Masters China Winner
2011 Yonex Canada Open Canada Winner
2011 Yonex OCBC US Open Grand Prix Gold United States Winner
2011 Li Ning Singapore Open Singapore Semi-Finalist
2011 SCG Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold Thailand Winner
2011 Wilson Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Switzerland Runner-up
2011 Yonex German Open Grand Prix Gold Germany Winner
2011 Victor Korea Open Super Series Premier Korea Winner
2010 Victor-BWF Super Series Finals Taiwan Runner-up
2010
2010 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open Super Series Hong Kong Semi-Finalist
2010 China Open Super Series China Winner
2010 Victor Korea Open Grand Prix Korea Winner
2010 China Masters Super Series China Semi-Finalist
2010 Yonex BWF World Championships France Quarter-Finalist
2010 Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold Taiwan Winner
2010 All England Super Series England Quarter-Finalist
2010 Korea Open Super Series Korea Winner
2009
2009 Super Series Finals Malaysia Winner
2009 China Open Super Series China Winner
2009 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open Super Series Hong Kong Winner
2009 Yonex-Sunrise BWF World Championships India Runner-up
2009 Djarum Indonesia Super Series Indonesia Winner
2009 German Open Germany Winner
2009 Wilson Swiss Super Series Switzerland Semi-Finalist
2009 Yonex All England Open Super Series England Semi-Finalist
2009 Yonex Korea Super Series Korea Runner-up
2009 Proton Malaysia Super Series Malaysia Winner
2008
2008 World Super Series Masters Final Malaysia Runner-up
2008 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Super Series Hong Kong Winner
2008 Li Ning China Open Super Series China Winner
2008 Beijing Olympic Games China First Round
2008 Yonex-Sunrise Badminton Asia Championships Malaysia Winner
2008 India Grand Prix Gold India Semi-Finalist
2008 Wilson Swiss Super Series Switzerland Winner
2008 Yonex All England Open Super Series England Winner
2008 Yonex Korea Super Series Korea Quarter-Finalist
2007
2007 China Open Super Series China Quarter-Finalist
2007 French Super Series France Semi-Finalist
2007 Denmark Super Series Denmark Quarter-Finalist
2007 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Macau Quarter-Finalist
2007 World Championships Malaysia Runner-Up
2007 SCG Thailand Open Thailand Runner-Up
2007 Yonex All England Open England Quarter-Finalist
2007 Yonex Korea Open Super Series Seoul, Korea Winner
2007 Proton Malaysia Super Series Malaysia Semi-Finalist
2006
2006 SCG World Grand Prix Thailand Open Badminton Championships Thailand Winner
2006 Chinese Taipei Open Taiwan Runner-up
2006 Proton Malaysia Open Malaysia Quarter-Finalist
2006 Djarum Indonesia Open Indonesia Semi-Finalist
2006 Yonex All England Open England Quarter-Finalist
2006 Yonex Germany Open Germany Winner
2006 Wilson Badminton Swiss Open Switzerland Semi-Finalist
2005
2005 Cheers Asian Satellite Singapore Runner-up
2005 Mongolian Asian Satellite Mongolia Winner
2005 Swiss Open Switzerland Quarter-Finalist
2005 Yonex Germany Open Germany Quarter-Finalist

Mixed Doubles

Year Tournament Venue Round
2011
2011 Yonex French Open Super Series Paris Quarter-Finalist
2011 Yonex Denmark Open Super Series Premier Denmark Semi-Finalist
2011 Yonex OCBC US OPEN Grand Prix Gold United States Winner
2011 Li Ning Singapore Open Singapore Quarter-Finalist
2011 SCG Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold Thailand Quarter-finalist
2011 Wilson Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Switzerland Semi-finalist
2011 Yonex German Open Grand Prix Gold Germany Quarter-finalist
2010
2010 Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold Taiwan Quarter-finalist
2010 Swiss Open Super Series Switzerland Winner
2010 All England Super Series England Semi-finalist
2009
2009 China Open Super Series China Winner
2009 Yonex BWF World Championships India Semi-finalist
2009 Djarum Indonesia Super Series Indonesia Runner-Up
2009 Aviva Singapore Super Series Singapore Semi-finalist
2009 Happy Suwon Asian Badminton Championship Korea Winner
2009 Wilson Swiss Open Super Series Switzerland Runner-Up
2009 German Open Grand Prix Gold Germany Semi-finalist
2009 Yonex All England Open Super Series England Quarter-finalist
2009 Yonex Korea Super Series Korea Winner
2009 Proton Malaysia Super Series Malaysia Runner-Up
2008
2008 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Super Series Hong Kong Runner-Up
2008 Li Ning China Open Super Series China Winner
2008 Beijing Olympic Games China Winner
2008 Badminton Asia Championship Malaysia Quarter-finalist
2008 Wilson Swiss Super Series Switzerland Semi-finalist
2008 Yonex All England Super Series England Quarter-finalist
2008 German Open Germany Winner
2008 Yonex Korea Super Series Korea Winner
2008 Proton Malaysia Super Series Malaysia Runner-Up
2007
2007 Hong Kong Super Series Hong Kong Quarter-finalist
2007 Wilson Swiss Super Series Switzerland Winner
2007 Yonex All England Super Series England Quarter-finalist
2007 German Open Germany Semi-finalist
2006
2006 SCG World Grand Prix Thailand Open Badminton Championships Thailand Winner
2006 Macau Open Championship Macau Quarter-finalist
2006 Chinese Taipei Open Taiwan Semi-finalist
2006 Wilson Swiss Open Switzerland Quarter-finalist
2005
2005 Djarum Indonesian Open Indonesia Quarter-finalist
2005 Cheers Asian Satellite Singapore Runner-up
2005 Mongolian Asian Satellite Mongolia Winner
2005 Swiss Open Switzerland Quarter-finalist
2005 Indonesia Open Indonesia Quarter-finalist
2005 Noonnoppi Korea Open Korea Quarter-finalist
2004
2004 Vietnam Sateitte Vietnam Quarter-finalist
2004 French Open International France Semi-finalist

References

  1. ^ BWF World Rankings
  2. ^ [1], Player's Database - Lee Yong-dae, Badzine.com
  3. ^ [2], OCBC/Yonex US Open, LEE YONG DAE
  4. ^ [3], French Open International 2004, LEE YONG DAE
  5. ^ [4], Lee Yong-dae Speaks, Badzine.com

External links

1996: Kim Dong-moon & Gil Young-ah (KOR) • 2000 – 2004: Zhang Jun & Gao Ling (CHN) • 2008: Lee Hyo-jung & Lee Yong-dae (KOR)