Victor Korea Open 2016

The just concluded Korea Open 2016 was held in Seoul at the Seongnam Seongnam Gymnasium
(경기 성남시 성남실내체육관) in Seoul (서울).

The finals feature Korean players in every single discipline: MS, WS, MD, WD and XD.

Korea players won the XD, MD and WD.

The Japanese WS player, Akane Yamaguchi beat Sung Ji Hyun in a thrilling rubber set to win 20-22, 21-15 and 21-18.

Similarly, the Korean MS player, Son Wan Ho,  lost in a rubber game to the Chinese player Qiao Bin who won 21-11, 21-23 and 21-7.

The biggest news is that Lee Yong Dae is no longer with the Korean Badminton association, in fact Lee Yong Dae is retiring from international badminton.

Source here: link and here.

This Victor Korean Open victory is the swan song of Lee Yong's illustrious career.

He won the last game of his career with his partner Yoo Yeon Seong.

'The 28-year-old Yong-dae partnered Yoo Yeon-seong to beat Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen of China 16-21, 22-20, 21-18 in a thrilling 85-minute men’s doubles final in Seoul on Sunday.

It was Yong-dae’s 43rd Superseries title, making him the most successful men’s doubles player on the Tour.' ...Quote the Star 2016.

Surprisingly Lee Yong Dae is still in his badminton prime and could have played for another 5 years. There leaves a void in today's men's doubles. It's like the men's doubles  game lost a superstar...

Wait a minute...


["Lee will complete his four-week basic military training in Gwangju City in November after playing at the Korean National Sports Festival. Thanks to his gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he is exempted from his military duty and is only required to complete the basic military training. He has been too busy to complete his basic training as he had to play in many international games.

Lee will start writing a new chapter of his life as a badminton player in 2017. After his retirement from the national team, he is still qualified to play in overseas leagues as an individual player. He also has a plan to participate in games in Southeast Asia, while he may find a new position at his sponsor, Samsung Electro-Mechanics. “Whatever path I will choose, I will try my best on badminton court," Lee said. "I will play badminton until I reach 35 years old."]

Reference: from a Korea news website.

The story is somewhat similar to his ex partner Jung Jae Sung who has to complete his military service, which interrupted his badminton career.

On the flip side, the absence of Lee Yong Dae will give new opportunities for new stars to emerge.