Chong Wei now has two China players to worry about in battle for supremacy

LIUZHOU: Nevermind that Lee Chong Wei did not become a world champion this year. Nevermind that he failed to bring the curtain down this season with his fourth Super Series Masters Finals title here.
Throughout the year, come what may, the 29-year-old Chong Wei has toiled to maintain his World No. 1 ranking and done the nation proud.

He single-handedly carried the flag, reaching 11 consecutive finals, winning seven titles and reaching three semi-finals - a feat that deserves thunderous applause, if not a standing ovation.

Deadly comrades: China’s Lin Dan (right) posing with his compatriot Chen Long after winning the Super Series Masters Finals men’s singles title in Liuzhou yesterday. – AFP

 

He doggedly played his heart out to keep the excitement of his keen rivalry with China’s Lin Dan, and now a vibrant Chen Long, alive.

Sports thrive on such epic contests and the badminton world can expect more fiery clashes in the New Year as the battle for supremacy has now become a three-cornered battle among Chong Wei, Lin Dan and Chen Long ahead of the London Olympics.

It is true that Chong Wei’s form and confidence dropped somewhat after the heart-wrenching loss to Lin Dan in the World Championships final at Wembley in August.

Who would not be devastated after coming so close to being crowned the nation’s first badminton world champion.
In the last four months, Chong Wei has been trying hard to regain his grip but the defeats by Chen Long and the continued battering from Lin Dan have not made it easy.

The 22-year-old Chen Long, a surprise first round casualty to Kevin Cordon of Guatemala at the world meet, has stormed back with his guns blazing to show that he is ready to rule the world.
The good news is that Chong Wei knows exactly what needs to be done to counter Lin Dan and Chen Long ahead of the Olympics.

He is ready to minimise his mistakes and add more precision to his game; be selective in his tournaments; pump up more power and speed; continue to give 100% in training and stay injury free. But knowing one’s faults is easy, the hard part is rectifying them, as Chong We is all too aware.

”I didn’t have strong finishes towards the end of the season but that’s all right.
“Sometimes, defeats like these make one even stronger,” said Chong Wei
“I will play in several tournaments in the early part of the new year and spend more time training ahead of the Olympics,” said Chong Wei, who will compete in the South Korea Open (Jan 3-8) and Malaysia Open (Jan 11-15) next month.

It is clear that Chong Wei is not pressing the panic button just yet but if there is one party that should be alarmed it is the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).

Where are BAM’s Chen Longs? Where are the successors to Chong Wei, who is 29 after all?
BAM are still hiding behind the success of Chong Wei, who has carried the weight almost single-handedly for several years. The grim truth is none of the back-up players are close to Chong Wei’s standard.

It is disturbing as the Thomas Cup qualifying tournament is just two months away. Who will play alongside Chong Wei? Maybe World No. 34 Mohd Hafiz Hashim and No. 42 Wong Choong Hann, who are surprisingly still ranked higher than all the BAM back-up players despite leaving the national team some time ago.

There is one player - professional club KLRC’s Zulfadli Zulfadli - who did the country proud by winning the Asian and world junior titles this year. For now, he seems to be the only bright spark but he has yet to make the transition to senior ranks.

To be fair, BAM have promised to look into the matter by giving more to their grassroots programme.
They have also, finally, decided to try something new by providing exposure to the youngsters by sending them out for more tournaments next year. Hopefully, it will see the birth of a new breed of resilient players like Chong Wei.


THE STAR