"You can do anything even if you have a disability...100 Days of Hell Training to Prove"
"You can do anything even if you have a disability...100 Days of Hell Training to Prove"
Blog Article
Lee Seung-min, who trained for 100 days last winter to show that even the disabled can win the competition against the non-disabled, is making a splash by competing for the championship at the Woori Finance Championship of the Korea Professional Golfers Association (KPGA) Tour.
At the second round of the competition held at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Saturday, Lee shot 3-under 68. With a combined 4-under 138, Lee tied for fourth, two strokes behind Park Joon-hong (6-under 136). Park Ji-ae, Lee's mother, was surprised to see the leaderboard on the second day, saying, "I don't think he is the Seungmin I knew."
Lee, who participated in this year's championship as a sponsor, was not mentioned as a favorite before the opening of the championship. He does not have a right to participate in the KPGA tour, and his personal best record was tied for 37th at the 2023 KB Financial Group LIV Championship. However, Lee displayed stable performance for two days at Seowon Valley Country Club, which is highly difficult. Notably, he displayed concentration by blocking only one bogey on the second day and garnering four birdies.
Lee Seung-min's sweat drops in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last winter played a big role in his performance. After practicing for more than 12 hours a day during the 100-day off-season training, he has taken strides in all areas including driver, iron, play around the green and putt. What he has improved the most is putting. Having reached the average number of putts per round from 34 to 36 last year, he has made various efforts to lower the number below 30.
In an interview with Maeil Business after the match, Lee said, "I practiced every day for 100 days. If I get a birdie, I feel good, but I will concentrate so that I can score under par in the rest of the round."
Lee Seung-min, who is competing for the title over the weekend, could not hide his excitement. "I wanted to show that even with disabilities, if I work hard, I can compete with non-disabled people. If I finish this competition well, I think I will be able to give dreams and hope to my friends who are similar to me. I will do my best until the end," he said with a smile.
Lee Seung-min, who ranked second in the world's disabled golf world ranking (WR4GD) by winning the US Golf Association (USGA) US Adaptive Open, expressed his ambition to continue growing. "I have one goal I want to achieve in the future with the world No. 1. If golf is adopted as an official Paralympic sport, I really want to win the gold medal," he said.
He also introduced his extraordinary relationship with Lim Sung-jae, the ace player in Korean men's golf 바카라. Lee and Lim talked about various things, including cheering for each other before the opening of the upcoming event. "I've known Lim since I was a middle school student, and now he is the best player in the world," Lee said. "I'm really grateful to Lim Sung-jae, who is a year younger than me but asks me how I'm doing."