Passing the mantle

Top shuttler Chong Wei finds worthy successors in trio

GEORGE TOWN: Malaysian badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei has tipped national junior shuttlers Lee Zii Jia, Cheam June Wei and Tan Jia Wei as his worthy replacement once he retires from the international scene.

The 36- year- old Penangite said he is happy to see the young shuttlers stepped up their games and rising to the occasion especially the trio.

“We need to groom these young players, encourage them to work hard to achieve their goals and I am happy to see that they have beef up their games in the past few years,” he told reporters after receiving a cash incentive from the Penang government yesterday.

He also hoped that all the junior players would continue to rise and improve their world rankings so that they can compete in more badminton Open tournaments.

The world number seven also urged Malaysian shuttlers to move on from the Thomas Cup defeat to Indonesia and prepare themselves for the next major tournaments.

“We must accept the Thomas Cup defeat and look forward to other tournaments to bounce back,” he said.

We need to groom these young players, encourage them to work hard to achieve their goals. Datuk Lee Chong Wei, former world number one

At the Thomas Cup finals in Bangkok last week, Chong Wei won all his matches against Russia and Denmark in Group D and against Indonesia in the quarter-finals.

However, Chong Wei again hinted that he may retire after the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia this August.

He said his next tournament would be the Malaysian Open from June 26 to July 1 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, followed by the Indonesian Open (July 3- 8), World Championships in Nanjing, China (July 30-Aug 5) and the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia (Aug 19-28).

“I will give my best in the Asian Games in what would be my last Asian Games,” he said. — Bernama