South Korean Lee Hyun-il and Hong Kong's Zhou Mi wrote tales of success on their comeback trails to top-level internationals at the US$300,000 Korean Open badminton championships here yesterday.

The 28-year-old Hyun-il made quick rebound from a first-game whitewash to dump world number one Lin Dan of China 4-21, 23-21, 25-23 in a 71-minute men’s singles final to win his first-ever home title.

It was only Hyun-il’s third win over Lin Dan in eight meetings. His other victories were recorded when he was in peak form in 2003. It was also Hyun-il’s first victory since he took a six-month break from the national team in 2006.

Hyun-il left the national team, which he described as a jail, to seek new fortunes but the love for the sport drove him back to the side currently under the charge of coach Li Mao of China.

Power-packed: Zhou Mi smashing her way to a 21-18, 15-21, 21-15 win over China’s Lu Lan in the women’s singles final of the Korean Open in Seoul yesterday. – AP

With a title under his belt and a runner-up finish in the Malaysian Open last week, the world number 23rd has ignited his hopes of making it to the Beijing Olympics in August.

Like Hyun-il, it was also Zhou Mi’s first major win since leaving the Chinese national team in 2004 and making a comeback under the Hong Kong banner.

The unseeded 2004 Athens Olympics bronze medallist, currently under the sponsorship of Malaysian-based professional club KLRC Bhd, slogged for 59 minutes to beat Chinese third seed Lu Lan 21-18, 15-21, 21-15 for the women’s singles title.

Zhou Mi had eliminated world number two and reigning Olympic champion Zhang Ning of China in the quarter-finals.

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