Chong Wei's Victory At Malaysia Open Augers Well For Rio Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Bernama) -- World number three Lee Chong Wei's ability to win the Malaysia Open title for the 11th time enroute to beating world number one Chen Long of China must surely go down as an unprecedented record in the modern era of badminton. The energy level and agility displayed by Chong Wei, 34, to beat Chen Long, 27, regarded as his main rival and nemesis at major competitions, in straight sets 21-13, 21-8 augers well for his quest to win Malaysia's first ever Olympic gold medal in Brazil. Chong Wei who came into the competition after early exits in two consecutive tournaments - All England and India Open - had displayed a consistent performance throughout the Malaysia Open. "I do not want to comment whether Chen Long's loss was a strategy or not but I am more concerned with my own preparations for the Rio Olympics. What is important is to be physically and mentally prepared during a match and to be free from injuries. "Even when you are the world number one there will be 'ups and downs' or an off day. As for me I will not concede defeat without a fight. I will always give a 100 percent in my quest," he said. The country's top mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying also showed maturity and strong fighting spirit by making it to the final after sweeping aside a number of seeded pairs from China and South Korea, including the world number one pair Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei. The duo however, lost to Indonesia's world number two pair Tontowi Ahmad/Liyana Natsir after a thrilling final that went the distance. Peng Soon/Liu Ying were quick to acknowledge that they would have to rectify their weaknesses and mistakes to have any chance of winning a medal in the Olympics. The duo staged a fantastic fightback against Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei from China in the semifinals to send out a message that they would be strong contenders for a medal, if not gold, at the Rio Olympics. The Malaysia Open also saw the dwindling fortune of China's dominance on the world stage as the normally dominant Chinese squad managed to win only one title, the women's doubles, in the Malaysia Open. Players like Lin Dan, Chen Long who were the early favourites lost; so did women's singles; China's men's doubles and mixed doubles. --BERNAMA