Lee Yong-dae (top) and Jung Jae-sung of Korea compete at the 2011 Korean Grand Prix tournament on Dec. 11. (Yonhap News)
The Korea Open set to offer $1 million total purse
Korean badminton duo Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung are ready to kick off the 2012 season, looking to defend their Korea Open title on Sunday.
The world No. 2 and defending champion Lee-Jung pair is competing at the Victor Korea Open Super Series, which runs from Wednesday through Sunday in Seoul.
The Korea Open, the first of the 12 Super Series events, is the most lucrative badminton tournament, offering a $1 million total purse. The winners of the singles events go home with $75,000, and the doubles winners will receive $79,000.
All of the world’s top players, including the Lee-Jung pair, are now here for the Korea Open, which is considered an important test ahead of the London Olympics in July.
“This year is special for us because we have the London Olympics coming up. I want to win the Korea Open, the first international event, to set a good tone for the Olympics,” said Lee, who won a gold medal in mixed doubles at the Beijing Olympics.
Lee and his long-term partner Jung are aiming for their third straight tournament title in men’s doubles. The Korean pair defeated Denmark’s Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen to defend their title in 2011.
This year, the Lee-Jung team is expected to face a strong challenge from the world No. 1 pair, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, for the title.
But the odds are in favor of the Korean pair. Despite a sluggish start in 2011, Lee and Jung finished the season on a high by grabbing the men’s doubles title in Denmark and also the French Open title, beating the world No. 1 Chinese pair in both finals. The Lee-Jung team also defeated the Chinese pair in 2010 for the Korea Open title.
“Jung has an injury to his shoulder, but we are still optimistic that they will defend their title,” said Korean team manager Sung Han-guk.
By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
