London Olympics CDM Praises Injured Chong Wei's Decision To Pullout From All England Final

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, Chef-de-Mission for the 2012 London Olympics, praised Lee Chong Wei for pulling out of the All England men's singles final due to injury instead of playing on and aggravating the injury, ahead of the Olympics. He said Chong Wei, the world number one, had put aside personal glory to save himself for the Olympics instead of playing on and aggravating the injury that might jeopardize his bid to win a gold at the Olympics. "Right now I do not know how serious is his injury but I hope he will recover soon," he told reporters after closing the 2012 National Singles Lawn Bowls championships at the Bukit Kiara Sports Complex here Monday. On Sunday, Chong Wei who was on track for his third consecutive All England men's singles title, retired in the second set during his match against China's Lin Dan, due to a shoulder injury that had troubled him throughout the first set. Chong Wei who came into the match with a heavily strapped shoulder, lost the first set 19-21 and was trailing 2-6 in the second, when he decided to call it quits after consulting his coach and tournament doctor. Ahmad Sarji said despite Chong Wei's injury and a drop in the performance of the country's top men's doubles pair Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong, badminton remains Malaysia's best hope of a gold medal in London. "Apart from badminton, I have yet to make predictions for other sports. I will do that after receiving the final list of athletes to the Olympics and analyzing their performances and achievements," he said. Besides badminton, athletes from shooting, archery, cycling and diving have qualified for the Olympics. -- BERNAMA