Why 27-year-old Lee can compete (original) (raw)
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| Lee Yong-dae |
By Kwon Ji-youn
The Universiade is a multi-sport event for university athletes ― so how is badminton star Lee Yong-dae, 27, eligible to compete?
In fact, a handful of household names are competing at the Gwangju Universiade this year, many of whom are in their mid or late 20s. These include gymnast Yang Hak-seon, 23, archer Ki Bo-bae, 27, and Lee, among others.
According to the International University Sports Federation (FISU), all three have made the cut for this year's Universiade as the handbook specifies that the event is "open to all student athletes who have not been out of university or an equivalent institution for more than a year, and that are aged between 17 and 28." The FISU accepts entries from any country eligible for the Olympics and from any national federation affiliated to the appropriate international federation.
So any athlete born between 1987 and 1997 is qualified for the international event that began its 12-day run in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Friday, as long as he or she is still a student. Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae studies at Yonsei University, and Lee studies at Kyonggi University's graduate school. Yang is a student in the graduate program at Korea National Sport University. Yang withdrew from all competitions Sunday with an aggravated hamstring injury.
There are exceptions to these rules. Those representing their country in basketball must be aged between 18 and 24. Heo Ung, 21, plays in the pro league but because it has been less than a year since he graduated college, he is able to compete. The age limit for archery is 28, which means this will be Ki's last Universiade appearance. Ki studies at the Kwangju Women's University graduate school.
The age difference between the Korean Universiade delegation's oldest and youngest athlete is 10 years.
Of the four 28-year-olds competing, diver Son Tae-lang, born in February, is the oldest, followed closely by Ko Sung-hyun, born in May, on the badminton team. Son finished fourth in the men's 3m springboard final on Saturday. Handball player Sim Hae-in is the oldest of the women at 28.
The youngest is diver Moon Na-yun, born in February 1997. Other 18-year-olds include volleyball player Kwon Su-jeong and taekwondo practitioner Yu Su-yeon.
Some athletes are looking to make the Universiade their career last. The event in Gwangju will mark judoka Kim Soo-whan's last before he joins the police force. The National Police Agency last month hired former or competing athletes who have won medals in taekwondo, judo and kendo at international or domestic competitions. Kim, 27, won gold at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2011 Shenzhen Universiade in Guangdong, China. He lost to Michal Horak of the Czech Republic in the men's +100kg repechage, Saturday.