Lee was the world No. 1 in two disciplines with four different partners
Lee Yong Dae is a member of the elite Yonex Legend’s Vision. He was the latest addition to the exclusive club in 2017. He had been the world No. 1 in two disciplines with four different partners spanning from 2010 to 2016.
One of Lee’s finest achievements is the 2008 London Olympics gold in the mixed doubles discipline with partner Lee Hyo Jung. They beat the Indonesian pair of Liliyana Natsir and Nova Widianto in the final. With this win, at the age of 20, Lee became the youngest ever-gold medalist at the Olympics in badminton.
At the 2012 London Olympics, with former partner Jung Jae Sung, they beat the Malaysian pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong to win the bronze medal in men’s doubles. They lost to the Danish pair of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the semifinals. The Korean pair was world No. 1s at this point.
Who are the four partners?
- Lee Hyo Jung, mixed doubles, Oct ’09 – Jan’10
- Jung Jae Sung, men’s doubles, June ’12 – July ’12
- Ko Sung Hyun, men’s doubles, May ’13 – Nov ’13
- Yoo Yeon Seong, men’s doubles, Aug ’14 – Nov ’16
Yoo Yeon Seong was Lee Yong Dae’s last partner with whom he was the world No. 1. They were at the top of the table for a total of 116 weeks from August 2014 to November 2016.
Lee and Jung Jae Sung were close off the court as well. They formed their partnership in 2006 and were partners until Jung’s retirement in 2012. They were the world No. 1s for a total of 14 weeks in 2012. After Jung’s untimely death in 2018, Lee was one of the pallbearers.
Currently, Lee is paired with Kim Gi Jung and they are at 31 in the BWF World Rankings.