Rising star Lee on commiting it all to badminton

By August 1, 2024 Badminton 0 Comments
Leona Lee World Juniors 800

01 August 2024

Badminton England prodigy Leona Lee hailed the support of her parents in aiding her rise in the sport as she sets her sights on a place at the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

Lee, 19, has emerged as one of the country’s hottest prospects in badminton and has not looked back since fully committing to the sport, opting to pursue sporting glory full-time after leaving school.

It was a decision that she feared would draw the ire of her parents – but her mother and badminton-crazy father have only acted as the wind beneath her wings, backing her fully in her early journey.

“My parents actually wanted me to do badminton,” Lee said. “I would have thought that they’re more strict on education as Asian parents, but they were like, ‘I want you to do badminton’ and it wasn’t that big of an issue, which is good.

“Having my parents support me in what I want to do is the main reason I’m here.”

Badminton is somewhat of a family affair for Lee, who was introduced to the sport by her dad, a coach in the sport.

She has since gone on to thrive in competitions, winning the Iberdrola Spanish International in 2023 after coming second in the Danish Junior Cup that same year.

Her dad has stayed at her side throughout her journey, with his influence still acting as crucial to her progression.

“My dad first started coaching other players and then he wanted me to get into it, and he began to coach me when I was seven,” she added.  “I just started playing tournaments and things from then.

“My mum doesn’t really play but my sister used to play – we used to play doubles together. She didn’t really want to do it anymore and then she quit, but I just continued doing it and my dad has been coaching me since.

“He motivates me to do what I want to do, like, he supports everything – like at tournaments, he comes to coach me.”

With Lee quickly rising up the ranks, she is not short of ambition and is already hoping to be competing amongst the best at the LA Olympics in four years’ time.

That said, she is not resting on her laurels and is prepared to put in the hard graft to realise her badminton dreams.

“I want to go to the 2028 Olympics and also play in the Commonwealth Games and get the medals,” she said. “I think if I continue what I’m doing, then I hope I get there.

“I need to obviously work hard, train really hard and not give up because it’s quite a long process still. So even if it’s going tough, I need to be resilient and know that the process will be worth it.” 

Photo courtesy of BadmintonPhoto.

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