Have only seen videos of him near the end (supposedly) of his career, but the thing that struck me was his indefatigability and his composure. Very consistent, if not extravagant. This speaks volumes for his work ethic in training. Good luck to him on his comeback.
I love LHI's style of play! It may be a bit 'feminine' as a previous poster remarked, with him not smashing real hard and stuff, but it's still fun to watch.
Feminine? Please. That's pushing it. I have never heard any man with a touch game described as feminine and lots are known more for their placement and precision than for their power. Granted, Lee Hyun Il does not play as aggressively as Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, or Chen Jin but nor does he rely on defense and touch play as much as the big men like Hafiz, Bao, Sridhar, and Jonassen. Perhaps some of you are letting memories of his last two international matches inordinately colour your impressions of Lee. I found his performances against Lee Chong Wei and Chen Jin at the Olympics marked by an uncharacteristic lack of aggressiveness. Ordinarily, I remember him as fast, fit and sufficiently powerful, even if not explosive. Remember it was a line call on a Lee smash down the sideline that set off Lin Dan's protests in 2008. Granted, one shot doesn't speak for a player's overall playing style, but then neither do two matches in Beijing.
I must admit that I was surprise with his level of play, really impressive for someone who did not compete in international tournament for almost 2 years. Plus he is 30 now.
to be honest ed hardy is overpriced....btw...i always wonder why so many korean players go "missing" after a while...I remember park tae sang...after olympics he just went missing...and also lee jae jin...went without a sound...low profile?
well korea have different culture they aim for olympic other is just the preparation for them to strike in og so after og player just retired
Well it appears that LHI has returned, and he seems to be in great form at the Macau Open, he has to play Boonsak Ponsana in the SF, but he has a good chance of making the Final.
Even though he just came back to competitive badminton recently, it is clear that he is playing at a level higher than his opponents in Macau open 2010. Guess that's the reason why the KBA kept asking him to return to the scene. If I remember correctly, this is the second time he returned from retirement. Once in 2007, and now in 2010. On his retirement from 2007, took him only a year to get into MAS SS final, beating LD in Korea Open 2008 and stormed into the semifinal in the 2008 Olympics. He is just simply amazing. I think he will have a very good chance of getting into the final of Macau open, the same cannot be said for LCW . I won't be surprised if he was ranked as the best MS player in Korea(internally) at the moment.
