Korea’s badminton player Yoo Yeon-seong gets married

A shuttlecock played an important role in building a special bond and finally in getting married.

Flying to Japan in 2011 for the Open Badminton match, Korea’s leading badminton player Yoo Yeon-seong (aged 29, Suwon City) met Japanese Eriko Tsuchiya (aged 32) who was sitting right next to him in the airplane. From the short encounter, Yoo became interested in this Japanese woman who was working in Seoul. Since Christmas in the same year, Yoo have flown back and forth the two countries to build up the loving relationship with his soon-to-be-wife. Finally, on this coming Saturday, they tie the knot at a wedding house in Seoul.

Teamed up with Lee Yong-dae, Yoo ranks first in men’s doubles and is about to begin a camp training in Korea National Training Center on Sunday, delaying his honeymoon. “I really have to prepare for the British Open Badminton, the first match in the season. To save the time, I and my fiancée chose our first house near the training center,” said Yoo.

“Eriko is a fluent Korean speaker and also good at making Korean dishes. I like galbijjim (seasoned and braised beef), kimchi stew, doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) that she made for me. She is a good cook," said the soon-to-be-husband.

He displayed high morale by joining the team a day earlier than other players. Returning to the court as No. 1 in 2014, Yoo ended the year with such impressive achievements as earning a gold medal in a team event at Asian Games Incheon and a victory in a season’s final king of the kings match.

Beginning the new year, Yoo has focused on building up his physical strength for nearly a month. He begins the day by running around a 400-meter track 10 times and usually runs 10 kilometers a day to reinforce lower body’s muscular power.