Chong Wei: It's now or never

Chong Wei feels there should be no talk about second chances.

AS far as Lee Chong Wei is concerned, there is no second chance when it comes to winning an Olympic medal and he wants to make his Beijing outing count next month.

Four years is a long time and having waited since Athens '04, where he admits he merely made up the numbers, Chong Wei said Beijing is only about winning a medal.

Now 26, he may be past his prime by London 2012 and Chong Wei, one of the most consistent performers on the international circuit currently, knows he has to accept the pressure that he is a medal contender in Beijing.

"We shouldn't be thinking about getting a second chance when we are talking about the Olympics. This special event is held once every four years and that second opportunity may never come," said Chong Wei after his training session at the Michael's Badminton Academy in Puchong yesterday.

"The Super Series is different where we have 12 events in just one year and the probability of winning is very much brighter.
"A player is lying if he says there is no pressure. We are talking about winning an Olympic medal and the pressure will be greater in Beijing.

"Having said that, any player from the top eight of the world rankings is good enough to win a medal and I need to remain focused from the first round to be in the running."

Chong Wei is also wary of the threat from unseeded players like South Koreans Lee Hyun Il and Park Sung Hwan, Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand and Ronald Susilo of Singapore who are capable of toppling the top stars on their day.

Only the top eight qualifiers will be seeded in the Olympics.

China's Lin Dan will be the top seed while Chong Wei will be seeded second and national singles coach Misbun Sidek said the latter deserves to be among the medal winners if his hardwork and dedication is anything to go by.

"Chong Wei has been preparing hard for the Beijing Olympics and I feel there is no player who deserves a medal more than he does," said Misbun.

"The buildup has also been good and he is more relaxed these days as there is not much hype on him. The pressure will be there and Chong Wei just needs to learn to cope."

Misbun said intensive training will continue for at least another week before the tapering period begins during the centralised training at Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara beginning Monday.

NST