IT’S ALL PART OF THE GAME

Chong Wei puts shock loss to Prannoy behind and looks ahead to French Open

LEE Chong Wei will not dwell on his shock defeat to India's H.S. Prannoy in the second round of the Denmark Open in Odense on Thursday.

The former World No 1 has accepted the fact that age is no longer on his side and it will get tougher for him to win tournaments.

Chong Wei, who celebrates his 35th birthday today, believes it is time for him to enjoy the game and not place any targets, which would put him under a lot of pressure. “I admit that I did not play well. I made too many mistakes. However, take nothing away from Prannoy who played extremely well,” said Chong Wei.

“Whatever it is, I am not going to dwell on the defeat. I have somehow gotten back my tournament feeling and speed on court, so I’m not feeling too bad about it.

“In every competition, there will be winners and there will be losers.”

Chong Wei, who last won the Denmark Open in 2012, failed to capitalise on his lead in the deciding game, succumbing to a 2117, 11-21, 21-19 defeat to Prannoy.

In the previous edition, Chong Wei was sent packing in the quarter-finals by France’s Brice Leverdez.

Chong Wei wants to forget about his Denmark setback and shift his focus to the French Open next week.

“I want to forget what happened here and focus on my next tournament (French Open). I still have a few more days, so I want to use it well by preparing myself,” added Chong Wei, a three-time champion in Paris (2007, 2011 and 2015).

Chong Wei opens his campaign in the first round on Wednesday against a qualifier.