South Korean ace badminton players gains popularity overseas

“Yong-dae has become a prince, haha.”

Sung Ji-hyun (MG Saemaeul Geumgo) Korea’s ace badminton player in women’s singles, made fun of Lee Yong-dae (Samsung Electro-Mechanics). The two players are loan players of a local badminton club in Bali, Indonesia. Sung and Lee were joined by Lee Hyun-il (MG Saemaeul Geumgo) and Sohn Wan-ho (Gimcheon City Hall). Lee Yong-dae, who became famous for his good look and showmanship on the global stage, is also popular in Indonesia. His fan sign meeting reportedly attracted hundreds of fans at the island. It was hard to imagine this even a year ago. Lee was given a suspension by the Badminton World Federation for missing doping tests, but fortunately the suspension was lifted thanks to the efforts of the Badminton Korea Association. “I am provided even with a car here in Bali. Badminton is quite popular here and the stadium is filled with people during weekdays,” Lee said.

The four top Korean players went to Indonesia where badminton is a national sport, and also to Malaysia and China as loan players, while they do not have an international competition and a training schedule for the national team. Many teams around the world tried to attract good Korean badminton players but they did not have a chance because the Korea Open, Korea’s top competition, used to be held in January every year. The competition has been delayed to September this year, which allowed players to play abroad. Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyun-il moved to Indonesia via Malaysia.

Sohn Wan-ho, who is ranked fourth in the men’s singles, played three games as a member of the Changsha team of Hunan Province in China, to receive 42 million won (387,500 U.S. dollars) in compensation and bonuses. Sung Ji-hyun won three times as a member of the Shenyang team of Liaoning Province until last week. Players are said to win a victory bonus equivalent to compensation for playing games of five million won (461.7 dollars) to seven million won (6,464 dollars) per game. It is like catching two birds with one stone as they can make money and maintain their edge during off-season. In addition, they serve as a diplomatic delegation by creating a craze for badminton as the regions have a great interest in Korean celebrities. “I envy the popularity of badminton in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. I’m focusing on each and every game with the determination that I represent Korea,” Sohn said.