WORLD No 1 and Malaysian team skipper Datuk Lee Chong Wei is out of the Thomas Cup Finals after injuring his ankle during the Group C tie against Denmark at Wuhan Sports Gymnasium Centre in China on Tuesday.
Chong Wei was the hot favourite against his opponent Peter-Gade Christensen in the first singles but he limped out of the court after just four minutes of play with the score standing at 2-1.
He was seen crying in pain and later was wheeled out and taken through an ambulance to a nearby hospital.
The unfortunate incident happened when the 29-year-old was retrieving a shot at the baseline from Christensen. He landed awkwardly and shrieked in pain, holding on to his ankle.
The tournament doctors rushed in but it did not help. Chong Wei stood up and limped his way to Christensen and called it quit.
National singles chief coach Rashid Sidek said that his condition looked quite serious.
"His ankle is so swollen. He may have to get it scanned and see the depth of the injury. We have decided that he would not play in the Thomas Cup Finals.
"We want him to have enough rest before the Olympic Games in London.
"He was crying and was so emotional. He must have been thinking about the Olympic Games too. For now, all he needs is some rest and time to regain his confidence," Rashid said.
His old foe Christensen was also apologetic.
"This is not the way that I wanted to win. I knew the seriousness of his injury when he landed with his weight of body on his foot.
"I feel so sorry for him. I wish and pray that he will get well soon and hope for speedy recovery."
Meanwhile, Malaysia went down to Denmark 2-3, with both doubles pairs losing their matches.
Tan Boon Heong/How Hoon Thein lost to Carsten Mogensen/Mathias Boe 21-17, 21-23, 21-11 while Koo Kien Keat/Goh V Shem went down 21-18, 21-15 to Jonas Rasmussen/Joachim Fischer Nielsen.
Malaysia's two points were contributed by Liew Daren and Hafiz Hashim who beat Jan O Jorgensen 21-15, 21-13 and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 17-21, 21-17, 21-19, respectively.
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