Lee Yong-Dae: Korean Doubles Specialist

Badminton has produced a plethora of talented and born genius shuttlers to the world. One such amazing badminton personality is Lee Yong Dae. A doubles shuttler specialist hailing from South Korea has been one of the greatest assets for the Korean Badminton team. This enthusiastic shuttler has a huge fan following. Let’s know more about this Korean hunk on his 29th birthday.

The Beginning

Lee Yong Dae was born on 11th September 1988 in Jeollanam-d0, South Korea. When he was a kid, he had no intention to follow badminton as a sport, far-fetched dream of becoming a badminton player. However, by the age of 8, the shuttler gained additional pounds and to shed the bulging fat, he started playing badminton at a local elementary school where he used to study. Well, the rest as they say remains history.

Early Career

Yong Dae developed interest in badminton as he played sport regularly. What began  as a mere physical activity later turned out to be a neck-to-neck competition with his peers and further at the international level. When he was a player in the Hwasun Middle School Team, he got the chance to play badminton internationally and represent at a global level.  This helped him hone his skills and work on his shortcomings effectively. Later he joined the Hwasun Vocational High School but when his junior days ended, he joined the Samsung Electromechanics team in the same year. At the age of 15, Yong Dae joined the South Korean National Badminton team in 2003.

Hurdles on the way

In the year 2003, he played at the Yonex US Open as a Single’s and Doubles player. A year later, the shuttler tried his luck at the French Open International. In the tournament, he competed in all the three events; Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles, in which he managed to reach to the semifinals in the Mixed Doubles category. Without any positive outcomes, the player kept grinding and participated in many tourneys. During this time, he also struggled to find the best and appropriate partner for him to play the sport. A ray of hope touched the player when he reached to the finals of the Cheers Asian Satellite in both the Men’s and the Mixed Doubles category.

Later he participated in the Asian Junior Badminton Championships in the Mixed Doubles category and won his maiden title.

Achievements

At the biggest and most prominent events of all the time, the Olympics, the shuttler impressed the world with his playing techniques. In 2008 Olympics, held at Beijing, China, Yong Dae won the Mixed Doubles title with his partner Lee Hyo-Jung. The pair clinched the golden laurel at the Olympics, which became the most memorable moment of the player's life. He also won a bronze medal in the Men’s Doubles category at the 2012 England Olympics with his partner Jung Jae-sung.

At the BWF World Championships, the players could not succeed to grab a gold medal, however, in the Men’s Doubles category, he won 3 silver medals. In 2007 at Malaysia, 2009 at India and in 2014 at Denmark. He also grabbed 2 bronze medals at the BWF World Championships held at England and Indonesia in the year 2011 and 2015 respectively.

He also managed to win a bronze medal at the 2009 BWF World Championships in the Mixed Doubles category.

The shuttler participated at the BWF Superseries, where he grabbed 37 gold medals and 12 silver medals from 2007 to 2016 in the Men’s Doubles category. On the other hand, he clinched 6 gold and 6 silver in the Mixed Doubles events in different BWF Superseries.

The player also showcased his talent at the BWF Grand Prix events. In the Men’s Doubles events, he grabbed 13 gold and 10 silver medals and in the Mixed Doubles, he won 3 gold and 1 silver laurel.

At the BWF International, Superseries and Satellite events, he won 1 silver and became five-time gold medallist in the Men’s Doubles. He also grabbed 2 gold and 1 silver in the Mixed Doubles events.

At the Asian Games, Yong Dae won a bronze at Qatar in 2006 and bagged another bronze in China in 2010. Later in 2014, he managed to raise a level and won a silver medal at the Asian Games, Incheon, South Korea.

Yong Dae is a five-time winner of the Asian Championships. He won 4 golds in the Men’s Doubles category. He conquered the Asian Championships at Malaysia, Taiwan and triumph twice on the land of China. In 2016, he won a gold in the Mixed Doubles category at South Korea.

At the Summer Universiade 2013, held at Russia, the shuttler won the title in the Men’s Doubles events.

As a Junior Boy’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles player, Yong Dae has won 7 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze at two different Championships.

He clinched the title in the Men’s Doubles category at the 2018 Spain Masters, after which he took retirement.

Playing Style

Lee Yong Dae has a unique playing style. With 100% strength and movement, he is a pro on the court. Strength, flexibility and agility, Lee has it all coupled with a great technique for a dominant Netplay. His deceptive qualities often confuse his nemeses. The shuttler is creative when it comes to smashing the shuttlecock. The smash power of Yong Dae is dangerous. No major weakness is detected in the playing style of the South Korean shuttler. The defence play of Yong Dae is unbreakable.

Fascinating Facts

Lee Yong Dae has appeared in a Television reality show.

He is got married to a South Korean Actress; Byun Soo-mi and he is the father of a one-year-old daughter.

He has a lot of interest in writing. Recently he wrote a book and currently working on a memoir of his private life.