LHI was such a superstar for his team Hyderabad and played a pivotal role in winning the PBL final, he being a trump player. He proved that his controlled technique can still be superior in faster format (15 point) of the game. LHI, yoo, LYD, Kim Sa Rang, Son wan ho, SJY, KIM Gi Jung, SBC.. All represented a strong korean participation in PBL.
Last year was also well attended by Korea. Son WanHo and Sung JiHyun didn't do very well this year though, but lets see if they make it next year.
Wow, when will this Evergreen Stroke Master ever going to call it a day, I mean for good ? Not that I want him to retire, not at all, only just to express my amazement and admiration. Lee Hyun Il, salute him, has set the standard or is the benchmark for aged players like LCW and Lin Dan on what they can expect or how far they can go if they were to reach his current age of 37 and still going strong, showing little or no signs of slowing down. I understand that, besides LCW and LD, both Hu Yun, 36, and Wei Nan, 34, are following in LHI's footsteps. Another past well-known, Mr Evergreen, Peter Gade, who retired at age 36 in 2012, would've tipped his hat to Lee Hyun Il , I believe.
That's nothing, Kazuyoshi Miura is still playing professional football at the age of 51! Now that's impressive!
Lee Hyun Il confirmed his participation at next upcoming Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open 2018 in Kuala Lumpur. >>> CAMO M&Q Report v1 (Updated Friday, 18th May 2018). His name is there along with 2 other KOR men's single players Son Wan Ho and Jeon Hyeok Jin.
I hope he has some energy left for his match tomorrow, it would be nice if he could beat Antonsson again.
The picture of LHI @ Macau Open 2018: Photos: Jane Piyatat / Badmintonphoto Photos: Jane Piyatat / Badmintonphoto There is no doubt that the 38-year-old Lee is slowing down, but his slow-and-steady pace is still the envy of so many in the race. Last year, he showed a dip in form after his two Grand Prix Gold titles in 2016 and his first Superseries final in 8 years. However, he was out for months with an eye injury sustained in the 2017 Malaysia Masters final and he still rebounded to reach the final of the Denmark Open Superseries Premier last autumn. The Macau Open is his first final of 2018, though. He won this event back in 2011, when it went toward his qualification for the London Olympics, where he finished fourth. In fact, this weekend was his first semi-final appearance since Macau last year, when his paths crossed with the comeback run of current World Champion Kento Momota. In the quarter-finals, Lee Hyun Il had already dealt with Australian Open champion Lu Guangzu of China. He saved two match points before emerging the winner in his second straight hour-long match. Against Japan Masters winner Sitthikom Thammasin, Lee took full advantage of the good end in the second game, forcing the Thai to attack from deep in the back of the court, and his solid defense made his younger opponent impatient and prone to errors. Lee stepped up the pressure in the deciding game while still finding perfect length on his deep pushes, despite the drift, and opened up a gaping lead that Thammasin was unable to close. [Source] 2011 champion Lee Hyun Il of Korea made it back to the top. He beat 20-year-old Zhou Zeqi of China in straight games (21-9, 21-19) to take his first title in over 2 years. At 38 years old, Lee would have broken his own record as the oldest player ever to win a Grand Prix Gold singles title but with the change in tournament nomenclature, he simply became the oldest ever (i.e. in 2018) World Tour winner in any discipline. Lee looked calm and collected throughout the match and even when Zhou opened up a sizeable lead in the second game, the Korean patiently reeled him in and took the game 21-19. [Source]
According to this Chinese report http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2019-11-23/doc-iihnzahi2775081.shtml (my summary and personal opinion follows): Lee Hyun Il, currently age 39, has officially announced his retirement yesterday (22nd Nov'19) at a privately held ceremony at Miyang City Hall [together with him at the ceremony was another Korean player, an ex-Asian Champion, Cao Jian-yu (not sure of his Korean name)]. According to the author, LHI was once known to have the best footwork among male players. Well, I can concur with that, smooth, graceful, and effortless; I hardly remember ever seeing him scrambling and falling all over the place. As we know, LHI has previously announced retirements and then changed his mind a few times, looks like this time it's for real; first, it's his 'advanced' age at 39, and, second, he actually held a ceremony for it, albeit in private and supposedly not much publicized (still, the Chinese reporter got wind of it somehow). After retirement, Lee Hyun Il may go to New Zealand to coach. Farewell to a great player, he'll be sorely missed, to use a cliche. We wish him all success in his future endeavour.
The Miryang team-mate is Cho Gun Woo. You can see him better here. He won the Asian title in 2010, the first of 3 people to win that title with Yoo Yeon Seong.
he still did to the very end... dr. smooth on ice. some of today's footwork makes me cringe... *cough cough* jonatan christie *cough cough* what caught my attention the most was his game and court iq. one of the smartest to ever play the game. he opened up the court better than anyone. he lacked lin dan/lee chong wei type speed, explosiveness and power but, he hit the best drops, cuts and smash angles into the openings he created w/ ease and purpose. it was always fun watching the opponents eyes because they knew what shot was coming next. in a 'panic' situation - if he happened to be off balance and his opponent was smashing he did not go for the glamorous defensive power shot 99% of players try, the fast high lift. if you're slightly off balance the risk of turning the rally advantage around is low and getting smashed on again is high. not lhi... he went for a slow and low easy neutralizing drop. easier shot to make, gives you more time to regain balance, no chance of giving up another smash. q: how would you describe lee hyun-il's game? a: have you ever seen jackson pollock in action?
Thanks for the magic and matches over the years, Lee Hyun-il. I wish a happy retirement to a true legend.
