《TAIPEI TIMES》Olympic badminton gold medalist Lee Yang retires – 焦點

2024/09/10 03:00

Employee, with CNA

Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang burst into tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a farewell ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open.

Along with friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears as he watched a video celebrating key moments from his professional sports career, as well as messages from international players including Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.

“I hope that in the future, when the world thinks of me, it will also think of Taiwan’s strong doubles,” said Lee, who won gold for Team Taiwan in the men’s doubles with partner Wang Chi-lin at the Paris Olympics.

Wang attended the ceremony, along with Lee’s other former badminton partners Chiang Yu-wei and Lee Jhe-huei.

During a chat between the badminton stars in front of the stadium crowd, Lee Yang said that Lee Jhe-huei used to be the first to leave the court when training was over.

“But this time, I’m the one who leaves the court first,” Lee Yang said before bursting into tears again.

Lee Yang, 29, reflected on his dedication to the sport, which helped him win two golds at the Olympic Games in 2021 and this year, two bronzes at the Asian Games in 2018 and 2022, and bronze at the Asian Championships last year with partners Wang and Lee Jhe-huei.

“I also want to thank myself for holding on for so long,” he said. “Every day I went to bed at 11 p.m. and woke up at 7:20 a.m. As long as there was something that could promote badminton, I always wanted to do it.”

Lee Yang said that during his career he spent more than half of each year outside Taiwan training and competing.

Much of the rest of the time he spent at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung, he said.

This has made Taiwan feel “unfamiliar” to him, he said.

“Right now I really want to cycle all over Taiwan, so I can enjoy it to the fullest,” he said. “I can stop everywhere and get to know Taiwan again.”

He also said that he will be teaching at the National Taiwan Sports University starting yesterday.

Lee Yang, born in Taipei but whose household is registered in Taiwan’s remote Kinmen County, started playing badminton in fifth grade of primary school.

News source: TAIPEI TIMES

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