Seop hopes to inspire others to conquer adversity
Korean awarded Male Para-Badminton Player of the Year Award on eve of the Dubai World Superseries Finals
Dubai: There is perhaps no greater visual representation of man’s ability to overcome adversity than to see a disabled athlete in action.
As Korea’s Lee Sam Seop stooped to pick up the Male Para-Badminton Player of the Year Award on the eve of the Dubai World Superseries Finals, the applause he received was overwhelming and inspiring.
Ten ten years ago Seop suffered an accident that would confine him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but it would not take away his spirit.
He clung bravely to his courage and the inexorable pull of sport gave him a new life and the greatest respect when he became the first honouree of a Badminton World Federation award during the glittering year-end gala.
“It’s been 10 years since I dedicated myself to para-badminton, and I want to thank BWF for inviting me to this event,” said Seop.
“I’m honoured to receive this award. I was emotional when I won it because this was the first such award for para-badminton.”
Lee admitted that life has been “rough” but an ultimately rewarding journey.
“It was difficult for the first two years,” he recalled. “Then I went outside and started looking at others, and realised that there are people who are worse off than me but happy. I started looking for sports for rehabilitation and found para-badminton. It made me happy and I started representing Korea.
“Para-badminton released my pain the most. I’d never played badminton before my accident. I realised this is the sport for me now, this is life for me now.”
Badminton is a testament to sport’s ability to rescue people from adversity and restore their place in the community.
The bad news 10 years ago is now good news for Seop, who hopes to inspire more people like himself to take up sport.
Seop held off competition from Malaysia’s Cheah Like Hou and Poland’s Bartlomiej Mroz to bag the award, while Helle Sofie Sagoy was honoured with Female Para-Badminton Player of the Year. The other contenders in her category were Englishwoman Rachel Choong and Denmark’s Julie Thrane.
