PETALING JAYA: Veteran Lee Hyun-il showed he’s still South Korea’s No. 1 men’s singles player as he led a home clean sweep at the Korean Open Grand Prix Gold badminton championships on Sunday.
The 33-year-old shuttler eased past compatriot Hong Ji-hoon 21-18, 21-12 in the singles final in Seoul to record his first title since winning the same tournament two years ago. The former world No. 1 was in his element despite being semi-retired since the London Olympics last year.
In the men’s doubles, Korea’s world No.7 Kim Ki-jung-Kim Sa-rang denied compatriots Ko Sung-hyun-Shin Baek-cheol, playing in only their third tournament, their first international title with a hard-fought 21-15, 18-21, 25-23 win.
The other three titles won by the Koreans are the women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
