Duckhee Lee, a rare player

Korea’s Duckhee Lee is a rare player in international tennis. By birth he is hearing impaired, but at 18, he’s already made remarkable progress in the ATP rankings.

He’s ranked 152 and is the No. 2 seed behind the Russian top seed Evgeny Donskoy in the $50,000 KPIT-MSLTA Challenger being played at the Balewadi Sports Complex. On Tuesday he quelled the challenge posed by Frenchman Hugo Nys, ranked 349 in the World.

Lee’s coach Woo Chung Hyo said: “He doesn’t care about his hearing impairment. There are occasions when he has problems in a match. He cannot make out the umpire’s calls; but he can feel vibrations. Every player when he hits the ball, usually he will know whether the ball would land in or out. So that’s not a big problem for him.’’

Lee went to elementary school in Jecheon and started playing tennis when he was seven years old.

Woo said, “Because he had hearing problems, his parents wanted him to play any sport. His ability in tennis is so good that he continued to play it and has progressed to the professional level.”

“Sometimes it was difficult to play because he could not hear and hence had to remain more focused. Everything else is the same with him like other normal players, always working hard and trying. He has not undergone any special training.’’

Woo said: “His father doesn’t like to talk. I am his cousin. His mother and my mother are sisters. I live in Seoul and we meet at least 10 times a year. I started to coach him two years ago and have been travelling with him and his father. I retired from tennis five months ago. I have played ITF events.’’

Lee who has played the ITF Futures in India in 2013, has qualified for Grand Slam singles and he hopes to crack the top 100 in the ATP list. “He’s very young. He has played the Davis Cup. He’s the second ranked player in Korea (after Hyeon Chung),’’ said Woo.