Shuttlecock queen Lee Hyo-jung returns after a 3-year hiatus

Badminton star Lee Hyo-jung, who retired in 2011, will return to the court. She recently signed a contract with Gimcheon City Hall and will resume competition from 2015.

After winning a gold medal in the mixed doubles with Lee Yong-dae at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she won in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games mixed doubles with Shin Baek-cheol. With Lee Yong-dae and Shin Baek-cheol both being exempted from military service due to winning golds, she was nicknamed the legal broker to exempt athletes from mandatory military service.

Standing 1.78 meter tall with powerful attack, Lee reigned supreme from 1999 to 2010 in the Korean badminton stage. She married Dankook University basketball team coach Seok Seung-ho in October 2011 and had two sons.

Lee’s voice was upbeat. “After rearing my kids, I wanted to come back. I am so lucky to have the opportunity. I love sweating it out in practice.”

Lee, who lives in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, where her husband works, has been doing weight training and yoga at the fitness center each morning for three months. She has lost enough weight to weigh just 4 kilograms, more than during her competitive career. She said, “I will join the Gimcheon City Hall team early next year. Before that, I will train at the high school team where my friend is a coach.”

Korea’s badminton has been strong lately, with men’s doubles sweeping gold, silver and bronze in the World Championship’s individual matches, but women’s doubles and mixed doubles have failed to reach the top of the podium. It also had to do with Lee’s sudden retirement. “I feel bad about the women I left behind. I want to help.” "I will prepare for both the Korean championships and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Lee said. “I felt envious of Lee Hyeon-il, who is the same age as I am, to return to the Korean team to win gold.”