Former world number 1 badminton player makes surprise appearance at Vietnam Open

Although not noisy, former Korean tennis player Lee Hyun Il still made his mark at the Vietnam Open 2025.

Legend Lee Hyun Il watches his students' match at Vietnam Open 2025 - Photo: DUC KHUE

It is difficult to recognize Lee Hyun Il among dozens of athletes and coaches on the field because he has retired from competition since 2019. In addition, no one thought that a famous tennis player would appear in a tournament only at the Super 100 level like the Vietnam Open.

Korean badminton legend

But then he was "discovered" by his familiar tall, slim figure and face that had not changed much. At his peak, he was one of the world's top tennis players. He won an Asian Games gold medal, a world bronze medal and countless other big and small titles.

His peak was when he achieved the world number 1 position in 2004, despite having to compete with legends such as Taufik Hidayat, Bao Chunlai, Peter Gade, Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei... The most regrettable thing about him is probably that he has never won any Olympic medals.

In 2008, he reached the semi-finals but lost to Lee Chong Wei and then lost to Chen Jin in the bronze medal match. After this tournament, he decided to retire from the national team at the age of 28 and only compete in national championships. And this left a huge void in Korean men's singles badminton. Unable to find a replacement, the team coaches repeatedly invited him to return. He finally accepted in 2010.

Lee Hyun Il is not the only Korean male singles player with such impressive achievements. But that number can only be counted with a few people like Shon Seung Mo, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics but never entered the world top 10. Another rare name is Son Wan Ho who also climbed to world number 1 and also retired.

Leading the youth

After retiring in 2019, Lee Hyun Il rarely appeared in public. The legendary tennis player's private life is almost closed.

People almost only know that he is pursuing a coaching career. It is not until 2024 that the name Lee Hyun Il appears again. At that time, the former world number 2 tennis player in women's singles from India PV Sindhu has just gone through an Olympic tournament empty-handed.

She also had a period of competition that did not meet expectations and so decided to choose Lee Hyun Il as interim coach from September. The two worked together for about 3 months and then said goodbye, with the goal of helping Sindhu improve her performance.

Then Lee Hyun Il "disappeared" again. If he hadn't come to the Vietnam Open this time, Vietnamese fans probably wouldn't know what he was doing. "I'm still the coach of the Korean badminton team, just focusing more on young players," Mr. Lee shared with Tuoi Tre.

He said he was assigned to guide and train young athletes to participate in lower-ranked tournaments to help them develop their careers. That is the reason he appeared at the Vietnam Open. "I have been to Vietnam many times. But this is the first time I have taken on the role of coach at the Vietnam Open. This is an extremely important tournament, a place for young talents to take their first steps on the path to conquering the top. Therefore, I highly appreciate this playground, especially when Vietnam has organized the tournament for nearly 20 years," Mr. Lee Hyun Il shared.

Among the Korean tennis players coached by Mr. Lee Hyun Il at this Vietnam Open, the men's doubles pair Na Sung Seung - Jin Yong played very well and reached the semi-finals.

Graceful like a ballerina

Lee Hyun Il was born in 1980 and started playing badminton quite early. At the age of 22, he gradually attracted attention with titles in domestic tournaments. Since then, Lee Hyun Il has appeared more often in international tournaments.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) website describes his playing style as "graceful like a ballet dancer, slow but delicate, potentially dangerous, in complete contrast to the very high intensity of his contemporaries".

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuu-tay-vot-cau-long-so-1-the-gioi-bat-ngo-xuat-hien-tai-vietnam-open-20250914001621138.htm