In this year’s Paris Olympics, our very own Carlos Yulo won back-to-back gold medals, etching the Philippines’ name in the history of the games. An unprecedented achievement for any athlete, Yulo defied all expectations and achieved greatness in the world of sports.
But Yulo isn’t just the double-gold medalist in the Olympics, particularly in Asia.
Taiwan has its own, distinct narrative of a back-to-back feat, but in two Olympics—Lee Yang.
Alongside his high-school classmate and long-time doubles’ partner, Wang Chi-lin, Lee became a part of Olympic history as first unseeded men’s pair in badminton to win back-to-back gold medals.
On the court, he’s a hustling defensive specialist. He plays relentlessly, refusing to give a point to his enemies. But off the court, he is a cool, young man with a contagious smile.
Last month, during a visit at Taipei Da-an Sports Center as part of the familiarization trip hosted by Taiwan Excellence, Manila Standard Sports had the chance to talk with Taiwan’s two-time, 29-year-old Olympic gold medalist Lee.
Service
Born in Taipei, Lee began playing badminton as his form is exercise in 2005, after being told by his father that he was a bit overweight for his age. Just like how most Filipinos learned to play badminton as a kid, he also started playing at open spaces near his home.
He ended up loving the sport and with the support of his father, who turned out to be a huge fan of badminton, he decided to go pro at the age of 10.
For most of his 19-year career as a pro player, he spent his time training at the National Sports Training Center in Kaohsiung. In 2014, he teamed up with Chiang Yu-wei then Lee Jhe-huei in 2015. At the end of 2018, Lee partnered with his old friend Wang Chi-lin to go on a historic run as Taiwan’s “Lin-Yang Pair”.
Sword and Shield
The duo’s playstyle is comparable to a sword and shield, with Wang’s offensive prowess as the mighty sword and Lee’s sturdy defensive hustle as the unyielding shield.
Lee finds Wang a very special teammate, due to his power and offensive capabilities. He also praised Wang’s mindset in how he achieves his goal. When it comes to playing doubles, he emphasized the importance of having the same goal towards victory.
Through hard work and determination, they managed to win when it mattered the most. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, they defied all expectations to get their historic win against the 2018 world champions Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China. They won the first gold in badminton for Chinese Taipei and became the first unseeded pair to win the Olympic gold medal for the said event.
In 2022, the duo peaked at #2 in the world rankings, and bagged the bronze medals in the Asian Games.
This year at the 2024 Paris Olympics, they successfully defended their Olympic title to further cement their legacy in men’s doubles badminton and Taiwan’s history.
Blueprint for success
For Lee, passion is crucial in finding success.
In competitive sports, there can only one be one winner in every match or one champion in every tournament. To a professional player like Lee, losses and slumps have become a part of who they are as a player. When defeats start to pile up, one tends to lose his balance. To Lee, passion can push one to get back on his/her feet and find the competitive drive and rhythm.
During the interview, he shared that whenever he’s struggling, he tends to go to a temple and then visit training camps or schools to reignite the passion he once had as a kid. To Lee, seeing promising, young athletes working hard reminds him of the journey he traversed throughout the years to reach success.
To an accomplished athlete like Lee, going back to his roots inspired him to keep persevering amidst every struggles and hardships.
“You need to insist, not because you have seen hope, but because you insist to have hope,” he said.
Off the court
Lee retired in September, where a ceremony was held for him after the final matches of the Taipei Open at the Taipei Arena. His accolades and dedication for the sport were honored during the event, attended by his loved ones and former badminton partners.
Currently, he’s been active in promoting badminton in Taiwan through public speaking engagements and events.
When asked about his plans at the moment, he said that he’s now focusing on his academics, since he felt that he didn’t have much time to study as a professional athlete. He’s currently taking up his doctoral degree with intent to teach and share his experiences to the younger generation.
He’s also looking to improve his language skills, especially his English and Japanese, with hopes to learn Filipino as well when he visits the country someday.
