SHUTTLER Lee Chong Wei is down but not out.
The world No. 1 left Guangzhou for home yesterday with mixed feelings after running out of gas the previous night en route to losing 13-21, 21-15, 10-21 to China’s Lin Dan in a 72-minute battle for the men’s singles gold medal.
The 28-year-old was disappointed with the manner he lost the third game but accepted the defeat graciously.
“I wanted this title as badly as Lin Dan but he played better. It was too difficult to catch up when he opened up a big lead in the decider,” lamented Chong Wei.
He admitted that he still lacked one vital element – mental strength – compared to his arch rival.
“He is better in the psychological part of the game,” said Chong Wei.
“Several times, he tried to break my focus when I was about to serve and I was not too happy about it. Anyway, that is something that I hope to master too.”
On whether he could emulate Lin Dan’s feat by winning all the major titles in the world, Chong Wei said: “I do not think that I will go on losing to Lin Dan forever.
“The defeat here showed that our standard is not too far apart. I can still catch up.”
The Chinese superstar is a three-time world champion and gold medallist of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also has winners’ medals from the All-England, Thomas Cup Finals and Sudirman Cup.
Chong Wei, whose only major crown is the All-England which he won this year, has won more Open titles this year compared to Lin Dan. The Malaysian emerged champion in seven tournaments – Malaysian Super Series and GP Gold, All-England and the Opens in South Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Macau. Lin Dan, who did not compete in many tournaments, won the China Masters and the Asian Championships.
“I believe I would have given him a better fight, just like I did in the Japan Open (final), if I were in better condition and stayed injury-free,” said Chong Wei.
“I only went full swing into training a week before the Asian Games because of my foot problem. Then, I came down with fever.”
Despite the setback, Chong Wei was satisfied with getting the silver in Guangzhou. He was the first Malaysian to reach an Asiad men’s singles final after Punch Gunalan, who won the gold in the 1970 Bangkok Games.
“This is still my best Asian Games outing. It feels good to bring back a silver, especially after the defeat in the team event,” he said.
Chong Wei was beaten by Boonsak Ponsana in the quarter-final tie and Malaysia went on to lose to Thailand for the first time in 30 years.
Chong Wei will not feature in the China Open (Nov 30-Dec 5) and his participation in the Hong Kong Open (Dec 6-12) is also in doubt.
But he said that he would certainly gun for a third consecutive Super Series Masters Finals title in Taiwan (Jan 5-9).
Chong Wei won the last two Finals in the absence of Lin Dan.
Star
The world No. 1 left Guangzhou for home yesterday with mixed feelings after running out of gas the previous night en route to losing 13-21, 21-15, 10-21 to China’s Lin Dan in a 72-minute battle for the men’s singles gold medal.
The 28-year-old was disappointed with the manner he lost the third game but accepted the defeat graciously.
“I wanted this title as badly as Lin Dan but he played better. It was too difficult to catch up when he opened up a big lead in the decider,” lamented Chong Wei.
He admitted that he still lacked one vital element – mental strength – compared to his arch rival.
“He is better in the psychological part of the game,” said Chong Wei.
“Several times, he tried to break my focus when I was about to serve and I was not too happy about it. Anyway, that is something that I hope to master too.”
On whether he could emulate Lin Dan’s feat by winning all the major titles in the world, Chong Wei said: “I do not think that I will go on losing to Lin Dan forever.
“The defeat here showed that our standard is not too far apart. I can still catch up.”
The Chinese superstar is a three-time world champion and gold medallist of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also has winners’ medals from the All-England, Thomas Cup Finals and Sudirman Cup.
Chong Wei, whose only major crown is the All-England which he won this year, has won more Open titles this year compared to Lin Dan. The Malaysian emerged champion in seven tournaments – Malaysian Super Series and GP Gold, All-England and the Opens in South Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Macau. Lin Dan, who did not compete in many tournaments, won the China Masters and the Asian Championships.
“I believe I would have given him a better fight, just like I did in the Japan Open (final), if I were in better condition and stayed injury-free,” said Chong Wei.
“I only went full swing into training a week before the Asian Games because of my foot problem. Then, I came down with fever.”
Despite the setback, Chong Wei was satisfied with getting the silver in Guangzhou. He was the first Malaysian to reach an Asiad men’s singles final after Punch Gunalan, who won the gold in the 1970 Bangkok Games.
“This is still my best Asian Games outing. It feels good to bring back a silver, especially after the defeat in the team event,” he said.
Chong Wei was beaten by Boonsak Ponsana in the quarter-final tie and Malaysia went on to lose to Thailand for the first time in 30 years.
Chong Wei will not feature in the China Open (Nov 30-Dec 5) and his participation in the Hong Kong Open (Dec 6-12) is also in doubt.
But he said that he would certainly gun for a third consecutive Super Series Masters Finals title in Taiwan (Jan 5-9).
Chong Wei won the last two Finals in the absence of Lin Dan.
Star
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