“Sangmu-ya, come out.”
Badminton star Lee Yong-dae (35, Yonex) cheerfully declared war on the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu). On the 26th, after leading the 4th round of the men’s group A preliminary league of the ‘2023 Passion Badminton League’ held at Pocheon General Gymnasium in Gyeonggi-do to a complete victory.
Yonex, led by his eldest brother Lee Yong-dae, won the match against Icheon City Cheong by a score of 3 to 0 and ran for 4 consecutive victories. 10 points were secured for points calculated by match goal difference, and regardless of the results of the remaining group stage matches, 1st place was confirmed. It is ‘No. 1’ after the opening of this tournament (17th) that the first place in the group, which goes directly to the semifinals, has been confirmed.
After the game, Lee Yong-dae and other Yonex players responded to an interview with the announcer for fan service. At this time, the Sangmu players, who are regarded as the strongest players in Group B, were watching from the stands to prepare for the next game. Yonex was the champion of the first tournament last year. The match between Yonex and Sangmu in this year’s final is most likely expected.
The announcer in the hall asked Lee Yong-dae for his impression, saying, “Sangmu players who are likely to compete in the final are watching.” Then, Lee Yong-dae exclaimed, “I know that the national team players enlisted, Sangmu is quite strong, but we are also the defending champions.”
It was a ‘provocative’ comment to interest the fans, but Lee Yong-dae deserved to be a good player as a player. He entered the 7th year after retiring from the national team, but the ‘nameless battle’, playing coach Lee Yong-dae, was still strong. 토토사이트
Lee Yong-dae took the lead in advancing the finale by participating in a three-match match (men’s doubles) Choi Woo-seok and Kang Yong-bin (Icheon City Hall) paired with Lee Sang-min (24), who was almost the same age as him. Lee Sang-min, who lacked experience, played the role of leader without wavering even with several mistakes, and his smash power was strong enough to put his age in his mid-30s into disrepute. He gave up 1 game (set) 11-15, but his seasoned crisis management ability was also outstanding, turning it over to 15-11 and 11-7 without panic at all.
Thanks to this, Yonex recorded a sweep victory (3-0) for two days in a row, following the 2-0 win streak of Jin Yong-Kim Jae-hyun in the first match (doubles) and Kim Tae-rim in the second match (singles). In the third group game against Dangjin City Hall the evening before (25th), Lee Yong-dae and Lee Sang-min played a finishing role as runners in the 3 matches, so Lee Yong-dae’s presence was all the more brilliant.
As if stimulated by Yonex’s leading run, Sangmu also won 3-0 in the 4th group match against Chungju City Hall, securing 4 consecutive wins and 10 points like Yonex, securing first place in Group B.
Yonex coach Park Yong-je said, “The current managing director is Choi Sol-kyu, Seo Seung-jae, and Jo Sang-yeop, and they are the best in history, so it will not be easy to win this year.”
In the women’s group A, MG Saemaul Geumgo won 3-2 after a full match against Siheung City Hall, recording 2 wins and 1 loss, and confirmed their advance to the playoffs (6th round) by finishing at least 3rd.
