Ko to get crew cut for Christmas

Korean doubles ace Ko Sung Hyun has one more tournament to go before he begins his military duty on December 23rd.  In his last appearance of the year with his partner Shin Baek Cheol, the duo were unable to pull out a victory over Lee Yong Dae and former All England runner-up Han Sang Hoon.

Photo: Don Hearn (archives)

Ko/Shin’s Gimcheon City Hall team thus had to settle for runner-up at the Industrial Federation Chairman’s Cup men’s team competition in Hwacheon, Gangwon-do this week.  Samsung Electromechanics won both the men’s and women’s team titles.  The men were helped by a win from new recruit, World Junior Champion Heo Kwang Hee, who took the second singles before Lee and Han sealed the 3-0 victory.

Ko Sung Hyun will now make his way down to Kuala Lumpur for one last appearance with Lee Yong Dae at the Superseries Finals, also his last event before joining the military team on the 23rd.  Shin Baek Cheol, meanwhile, has been entered in next month’s Korea Open Superseries with Lee Sang Joon, though he may be back with Ko should the latter be called back to the national team after basic training.

Next year could see a reunion of longtime partners Ko and Yoo Yeon Seong for domestic tournaments as Yoo will be with the military team until mid-autumn next year.  Shin Baek Cheol and Lee Yong Dae are the only men currently on the national team who are exempt from military duty, due to the gold medals they won at the Asian Games and Olympic Games, respectively, both partnering Lee Hyo Jung in mixed doubles.