On the verge of winning 2 consecutive tournament winner, facing fellow countryman at the Yonex Sunrise Malaysia Masters 2015
He is so fit, cool and composed, not many flashy shots but his Thai opponent looked like a puppet on a string in several rallies - real pleasure to see him play at this level again!
win, again. longevity redefined. dejavu of SS win against LCW, suddenly people asking what Astec racket is he using. Now LHI's racket is gaining popularity which idk yet maybe other apacs fan knows?
Ziggler LHI is expense raquet (among APACs) litte Head Heavy and 3U, Offical Max Tension is 38Ibs (!!!) but, I think LHI doesn't use Ziggler LHI at MalayMasters...
what if i told you i'm instantly reminded of dolph ziggler (WWE wrestler) -__- next, he'll play in indonesia for team musica alongside with LYD
To put Lee Hyun Il greatness into context. He is 33 years old. He came out in 2000-2001. Same age as Taufik. He was a new breed of Korean Single players like Sho Seon Mo. Korean singles players were no longer whipping boys with emergence of these two. when lee was a youngster the top were dominated by Xia, Chen Hong, Taufik, Peter G, Hendrawan. Xia was only one year older. At 21 . Lee had already scalped some big names. And there were many more youngsters coming to the fore, LCW, Lin Dan, Bao CL, Sony Dwi, Park Sung Hwan. Later, He was constantly a thorn in the side of Lin Dan, lee Chong Wei. Made the Olympics semi finals twice. Retired 3 times and changed his mind 3 times. He is still playing albeit in the lesser and less demanding circuit. BUT no up and coming youngsters in those circuits have been able to beat him convincingly. So this just shows that the quality of the youngsters at the 21-24 age range are still raw compared to Lee times. It is great that he is still arond.
Slight correction: he is actually 34 and turns 35 in two months. It is true he made his first impact in 2000. He reached the final of the Sweden Open just before his 20th birthday but it was at the Thailand Open that summer that he beat soon-to-be Olympic champion Ji Xinpeng and Fung Permadi, then lost to Hendrawan in three games in the semis. In his last year as a junior, he reached the semis of the 1998 Asian Juniors, which means he must have lost to either Chen Yu Hsu (TPE) or Endra Feryanto (INA).
The Badminton Exclusive Article: Controversy and emotions ran high on the courts today in Seoul as a fought nearly broke out between World Number 1 Lin Dan and Korean Coach Li Mao. It all started with a line call that was wrong. The umpire corrected it. Then another one. The umpire corrected that too. And then two more. Four incorrect line calls against the same player. Smells fishy? Luckily, the umpire managed to adjust all the four incorrect calls. Already very much in doubt with the linesmen's ability to be impartial, Lin Dan continued playing. On the surface, everything seemed cool, calm, collected. On the inside, Lin Dan was boiling. The hot tempered Lin managed to keep his temper in control, just as long as the calls were corrected. Then came a line call that went against Lin. Immediately, Lin appealed to the umpire to once again, change it. Unfortunately, the umpire did not have a clear view of the shuttle, and following protocol, did not change the call. Incensed, Lin Dan shouted at the umpire. He then directed his anger to his opponent Hyun Il, and then threw his racquet, which, intentionally or not, landed near Korean Coach Li Mao. There has already been history and bad blood between this two players. The most controversial one is the one involving Li Yongbo's remark to 'break Lee Chong Wei's leg'. Fuming, Li Mao shouts at the sideline at Lin Dan. The Chinese coaches too, streamed out to protect their charge. Li Mao then pushes Li aside. A fight nearly broke out, with heated words being exchanged between the two parties. Meanwhile on the court, Lin Dan confronts Lee Hyun Il, while Korean Coach Ha Tae Kwon attempts to calm the situation, but was pushed provokingly by Lin Dan. Luckily, the game referees were on the court and were able to arrest the situation before it degenerated into further chaos. The shouting match between Lin Dan and Li Mao continued, and was finally stopped after Lin Dan was given a yellow card. After Lee Hyun Il won the 3rd game by the thinnest of margins, he was back to his humble and polite self. However, when asked about the incident, Lee said that Lin asked: "You saw that shot! Wasn't it out?. This is a disgraceful incident. Lin Dan and to some extent, Li Mao are to blame for this dramatic but shameful encounter. Lin Dan, if you cannot control your emotions, don't be a badminton player. This is not your personal theatre or a boxing ring. Many other players, including Taufik Hidayat and Lee Chong Wei both have had similar unfair incidents, but did not react so selfishly and rudely as you. You are giving a bad name to the sport by nearly starting a fight. Luckily the situation was controlled shortly. Live with it. Let it go. If you cannot handle bad line calls, you don't deserve to be a top player. I call for the BWF to take action and investigate this incident involving Lin Dan for his blatant disregard for the officials and the blatant disrespect he has shown for the game. Send a message that wherever you are, whenever you play, remember you are representing a sport with a community of more than 1 billion people. Send it as a warning to all that dare shame this sport. Li Mao too, is to be blamed to a certain extent. He should not have reacted to Lin Dan's action. Forget and move on. Instead of his personal egos, he should have ignored Lin Dan's action, no matter how incendiary. Coaches are supposedly to be matured and calm. It does no one no good when one loses his temper like that. Hopefully there will be no repeat of this incident. PS: I have been informed that Lin Dan threw the racquet AFTER the match, not during the incident. PS: I am not saying that the system and the Korean adjudication were not to blame. They are to blame, together with the China Open's organisers last year. However, I did not condemn Lee Chong Wei last year because he did not start shouting, shoving and throwing racquets at the umpire, the other player or other coaches.
Sorry forgot to state that this incident happened during the Seoul Korea Open, 2008. Well as gas as I know Koreans like to cheat when the tournament is held at their own country. You know there sill be stories like blind linesmen, blind umpire and also others. I got this article from the Korean website. I guess Lin Dan reacted because he is too angry with the unfair judging. He should not be given a yellow card but I think the organizer of the tournament should be given a yellow card for being unfair.
I hope that the things that I have stated above will help to explain why Lee Hyun Il suddenly quit playing badminton in year 2008 and hope that it will also shed some light about Li Mao departure from Korea in year 2008. That incident is really considered as very embarrassing for Li Mao. Then Lee Hyun Il quit playing badminton is also related to that incident. I am really a great fan of Lee Hyun Il here until he quits playing in year 2008. If I am not mistaken, I think he is still playing in tournaments as an independent player. Anyway he did a good job to help Korea win the men team event gold in incheon Asian games 2014 although it is quite controversial too. Even the China coach himself Li Yong Bo is dissatisfied with the results and says that Korea lose due to man made errors. He pointed to the faulty air conditioner at the stadium.
Sorry for the typing errors. I wanted to correct the second last statement. Li Yong Bo said China lose due to man made errors.
There were a lot of discussions here on that incident already. Why bring it back up after so many years!?
Sorry qidong. I just happen to read the thread on the second page of the forum and saw lots of questions being asked related to the retirement of Lee Hyun Il so I just mention it to clear the air. No hurt feelings here. Sometimes as a Korean I will also feel ashamed of my country when they cheat to win. I am a great supporter of Lee Hyun Il here.