Chong Wei’s splendid resurgence

Out of the doldrums and into the spotlight, the badminton star does a remarkable turn-around to capture three titles on the trot.

COMMENT

By K H Su

KUALA LUMPUR: Many were left in awe of Lee Chong Wei by his recent performances. Still not back to his best, the result of lack of competition, Chong Wei simply rolled back the years to capture three titles on the trot, the French Open, China Open and Hong Kong Open.

He did it in spectacular fashion, defeating some big names, his nemesis Lin Dan once and Chen Long twice en route to his successes. With only a ranking not worth mentioning when he started his new campaign, Chong Wei has now attained 3rd ranking which has surely qualified him for a coveted place in next year’s Olympics.

Whenever Chong Wei plays, many are glued to their TVs and the mamak shops packed with supporters to cheer him on. The other night in the HK Open semi-final after he had lost the first set to Chen Long and was trailing 13-18 in the second, the latter looked set to exact his revenge on Chong Wei who had wrested the China Open crown from him in front of his home crowds a week ago. With his back to the wall Chong Wei showed his mettle and indomitable spirit yet again to send his opponent packing.

In case we forget, Chong Wei did all this at the age of 33. In modern-times badminton I doubt we can name another player, past or present, as competitive and successful at his age. In reality anyone at 33 is past his/her prime in any sports. But surely not Chong Wei.

For some comparison with Chong Wei’s success at this mature age we have to go back to the 50s. In was in 1957 that the legendary stroke master Wong Peng Soon won his 4th All England title at 37 against a 10-year younger Eddy Choong, another legend. In the 1957 final Peng Soon wasn’t given much of a chance as Eddy Choong had been at his prime and champion in 1955 and 1956. But won Peng Soon certainly did, with about the same qualities that Chong Wei showed.

I like to believe that if Peng Soon could do it, Chong Wei also can.

Chong Wei has bagged all major titles except the elusive World Championship and the Olympics. However his resurgence has given hope that Malaysia may win the first World Championship title and Olympics gold through him next year.

We pray that he will stay free of injury leading up to the two major events next year. His wins in those events will make history and hopefully inspire our younger players to greater heights.

K H Su is an FMT reader.