Olympic partners… “Lee So-hee is Shin Seung-chan, Shin Seung-chan is Lee So-hee”

Badminton women’s doubles duo Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan (27, Incheon International Airport) have been friends for 14 years.

They met on the junior national team in their first year of middle school and became friends of the same age, and they are now playing the role of pillars in the adult national team.

They are the most experienced badminton players participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, she paired up with her sisters. Lee So-hee worked with Jang Ye-na (32, Gimcheon City Hall), and Shin Seung-chan worked with Jeong Kyung-eun (31, Gimcheon City Hall).

Kyung-eun Jeong and Seung-chan Shin achieved bronze medals at the Rio Olympics, and So-hee Lee and Ye-na Jang won gold medals at the 2017 Jeonyeong Open, the most prestigious event.

Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan, who gained experience and improved their skills, became partners again at the end of 2017 and challenged the Tokyo Olympics together.

As a junior, she won gold medals in the women’s doubles at the World Junior Badminton Championships in 2011 and 2012 in a row.

On the 6th, Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan, who are training in Hwasun, Jeollanam-do, said in a phone interview, “It is meaningful because it is the first time we are going to the Olympics together.”

When asked who he would like to thank the most if he won the gold medal, Shin Seung-chan replied, “I am unconditionally grateful to So-hee the most.”

Still, he burst out laughing, saying, “You must not eat kimchi soup,” and that he would not even imagine winning a gold medal.

I am confident enough to go to the Olympics for the second time.

Shin Seung-chan said, “In Rio, there was a part where the older sisters pulled us. Thanks to the older sisters, we grew up and learned a lot. We learned how to do it.”

Lee So-hee said, “In Rio, we were young and inexperienced, so we followed what our sisters led.” Looking back, “After 5 years, we have accumulated our own experiences. The two of us must overcome well together.”

Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan are always together, but rarely fight.

Shin Seung-chan said, “I talk to So-hee a lot because I have a personality, but So-hee is kind and patient. So it doesn’t lead to a fight.” Lee So-hee laughed, “I think that’s right.”

We spend a lot of time together, so on days we don’t have training, we each take a break. Shin Seung-chan laughed, saying, “I’m away during my break time,” and “I give So-hee freedom.”

In a word, the play of Sohee Lee and Seungchan Shin, who are ranked 4th in the women’s doubles world ranking, is ‘aggressive’.

Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan have been playing strong and fast since they were young because they had in common that they were tall (171 cm Lee So-hee, 173 cm Shin Seung-chan) and good strength.

The two shared, “Since childhood, I was known as ‘Lee So-hee as Shin Seung-chan and Shin Seung-chan as Lee So-hee'”.

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It was also disappointing that the Tokyo Olympics were delayed by one year due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic when it was on an upward trend by winning the French Open in 2019 and winning the World Tour Finals.

However, Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan used the one-year wait as a ‘reorganization opportunity’.

As soon as she heard the news that the Tokyo Olympics had been postponed, Sohee Lee went into knee rehabilitation. Shin Seung-chan also cleared up his cup injury.

As a result, Sohee Lee and Seungchan Shin improved their physical condition and confidence. In January of this year, he achieved good results, including a bronze medal at Yonex Thailand Open, a silver medal at Toyota Thailand Open, and a gold medal at the World Tour Finals.

Despite expectations for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan said, “I will not think of it as a burden, but with grateful interest.”

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