Sunday, August 16, 2009
Lee Chong Wei
BACKGROUND
Datuk Lee Chong Wei (李宗伟) is a professional badminton player from Malaysia who currently resides in Bukit Mertajam. He was born on October 21 1982. He started learning how to play badminton when he was 11. Datuk Mohmed Misbun Sidek discovered him and began to train Lee Chong Wei after school.
CAREER
Lee Chong Wei was drafted into the national squad when he was 17. His first major achievement was in reaching the finals of the 2003 Malaysian Open. He also gained two titles in 2004, earning him a place in the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, he was defeated in the second round by Chen Hong. He won another two titles in 2005, and managed a bronze in the 2005 World Championships after losing to Taufik Hidayat in the semifinals. In 2006, he got 3 titles out of 6 finals. He won 2 golds for Malaysia in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and reached the top spot twice in the Badminton World Federation’s rankings in 2006. In 2007, for the first time in five years he failed to reach the finals in Malaysia Open, and only got a title in Indonesia Open after reuniting with his former coach Misbun Sidek. He then achieved three titles, and reached the finals of China and Hong Kong Open, despite a knee injury. He then won all the matches he played in the Sudiman Cup, however Malaysia finished in 5th place. In 2008, he won his 4th Malaysia Open title. He took part in five other tournaments, and only achieved a title in Singapore Open, his 6th, and last pre-Olympics tournament. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he won over Ronald Susilo, Kestutis Navickas, Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Lee Hyun-il to the finals, but lost to Lin Dan. He participated in many more tournaments, but failed to get a title, and pulled in the Hong Kong Open due to a knee injury. However, he got his 7th consecutive win at the National Badminton Grand Prix Final in Kedah, breaking the record set by his mentor, Misbun Sidek. He also won a title in the Super Series Master Finals, however, Lin Dan and other China top players did not compete. In 2009, he won his 5th Malaysia Open title, and won a title at the Swiss Open, defeating Lin Dan. He also helped Malaysia reach the semi-finals of the Sudirman Cup, which was unprecedented in their national history. He also won another two titles, despite losing in the Singapore Open.
AWARDS
In 2006, he was given the 2005 National Sportsman Award (Anugerah Sukan Negara), and the 2005 Penang Sportsman Award for his performance in the IBF World Championships. In 2007, he was named 2007 Penang Sportsman. In 2008, he was given Anugerah Sukan Negara for his performance during the Olympics. He was also Malaysia’s Male Olympian 2008 for being the only Malaysian to win a medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. For this, he was also given the title of Datuk. He was the third Malaysian to be ranked first worldwide, and the first to hold it for more than two weeks. In 2009, he was the winner of the Sportswriters’ Association of Malaysia awards, and appointed as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
