But this three-time world and three-time Asian Games champion, whose Grand Prix victories go into double figures, still seems to be operating under what he describes as an "Olympic jinx".

After working fiendishly hard on preparation during every day of the pandemic, Lee focused his energies as never before on the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

"I am preparing for this as if it is my last Olympics, "he told World Takewondo. "Even if I fight in Paris 2024, I don't think I can get gold."

And Lee's honesty extends to admitting that, despite the gifts that have made him one of the most respected male players in the game, he still has nerves.

"I am afraid that I will not be able to fight my best at the Olympics - it's the Olympic jinx," Lee added.

"This year, athletes could have changed their techniques and improved their skills. I have not seen them for a year as they have not been fighting, so I am kind of nervous."

All of Lee's premonitions came good - or rather, bad - in Tokyo's Makuhari Messe Hall A. 

The top seed suffered an agonising 21-19 first round defeat to Uzbekistan's 19-year-old Ulugbek Rashitov, who would go on to earn a shock gold by turning around his final with Britain's reigning world champion Bradly Sinden in the final 10 seconds, with an audacious swivelling kick to the head followed by one to the body. 

And so another world champion challenger in Tokyo sank disconsolately to the mat.

Lee then had to suffer the - relative - indignity of two rounds of repechage contests in the men's under-68kg featherweight category. 

This proved to be far from straightforward as he earned an 11-9 verdict over Seydou Fofana of Mali, and then came through 30-21 against Iran's tough eighth seed Mirhasem Hosseini.

While the gold had gone, bronze was still up for grabs as far as Lee was concerned.

At the London 2012 Olympics, he won silver, beaten 17-8 by Spain's Joel Gonzalez. Four years later at the Rio Games he earned another medal - this time bronze as Jordan's Ahmad Abughaush become a surprise winner.

But his hope of collecting a third Olympic medal in Tokyo disappeared with a 17-15 defeat by China's third seed Zhao Shuai, the Rio 2016 under-58kg gold medallist.

Can Lee, who turned 30 in February 2022, push on for another tilt at Olympic gold despite his assessment of his chances in Paris? In his favour is the pandemic-related timing, which means he only has a couple more years to wait.

Don't rule it out.

Lee's peers in global taekwondo recognise him as a special talent.

Iran's master fighter Mahdi Khodabahshki has described South Korea's featherweight phenomenon as "a legend in taekwondo".

France's Haby Niara, the Rio 2016 silver medallist in the women's under-67kg class, said: "He is the best fighter I have ever seen. When he does taekwondo he is playing – it is a game for him."

Lee started taekwondo at his father's dojang as a toddler. "When I was five, I started learning taekwondo," he said. "Through growing up with taekwondo, I love taekwondo."

World Taekwondo commentator John Cullen has watched Lee's progress for many years.

"When he was studying at Yongin University, he was playing at under-58kg and he would do four training sessions a day, then he would go running at night to lose weight," Cullen said.

"He ran so much, that he has this amazing heart and lung capacity."

Today, though he is still as lean, Lee is powerful with it. And in the new game - pushing has been allowed since 2017 - upper body strength is a bonus. 

"He is physically strong," said Cullen. "Nobody outwrestles him in the clinch."

The reason Lee is such a high scorer, according to Cullen, is his no-fear approach to distance management. "The reason he is so accurate is that he stands at danger-distance," the commentator said.

"He’s a killer. He looks so quiet and kind - but he is a baby-faced assassin."

During the pandemic, Lee was fortunate to live and train in South Korea - which managed to contain COVID-19 without imposing mass lockdowns. It meant he was able to work out with his home team in the city of Daejeon.

"I have been train­ing with seven people, I never trained alone - we live togeth­er and my coach also lives in Daejeon," he said in 2020.

There were predictions in the sport that once Lee had married and had a child his form would deteriorate. That did not happen.

"I also thought that athletes who are parents go down," he said. "I want to prove that this is not true."

Lee is known for his fitness and ability to battle tirelessly for three rounds, as well as the golden round when necessary.

But 2020's enforced break from the competitive schedule offered him the opportunity to upgrade his bodywork. During this time he concentrated particularly on upper body strength, a key component of clinch combat.

"If you do weight training, your physique gets really good, but it soon goes down again," he said. "So I made it a rule to do this every day to be consistent."

Challenging the self is a key factor in Lee's personal train­ing. "I am increasing my number of push-ups every day, for example," Lee said in 2020. "I need motivation! I am harsh on my­self. I will double my physical training just before the Olympics.

"From the start of 2021, I will double my training and expert coaches will come in to work with me."

Many players used 2020 as an opportunity to rehabilitate chronic injuries. Not Lee.

"Usually if you get injured, you have to stop training but for 11 years, I have not had any injuries," he said. "Very physical players can get injured as they are putting a lot of power into their techniques, but athletes like me do not put in so much power - we concentrate on flexibility."

In the lead-up to Tokyo 2020, Lee announced: "I want to fulfil everything - both fighting style and outcome.

"I want to meet everyone who is preparing for the Olym­pics. I hope they are healthy wherever they are, and I want to meet them all in Tokyo."

Now he will be seeking to keep that ambition alive for at least a couple more years.