Chong Wei still has the desire to carry on playing

SHUTTLER Lee Chong Wei (pic) has delivered good news on the eve of the National Day – he will continue playing for the country.

“There are defeats and victories in sports. I’ve thought about my future and I’ve decided to keep going,” said Chong Wei, who turned up for the SEA Games badminton individual finals at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil and attended the victory ceremonies involving Malaysian players.

He said he made up his mind after discussing with Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria yesterday.

The 34-year-old Chong Wei was thinking of retiring after losing in the first round to Brice Leverdez of France at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, last week.

“There are many major tournaments coming up for Malaysia next year (Thomas Cup Finals, Asian Games, World Championships) and I believe it’s my duty to play on,” said Chong Wei.

“I’m getting older and I shouldn’t be too upset about losing. I’m still a top-10 player in the world and I shouldn’t put unnecessary pressure on myself. I’ll try to enjoy the game again.”

Norza, who was happy with Chong Wei’s decision, had mixed feelings over Malaysia’s 1-4-2 medal haul in badminton at the Kuala Lumpur Games.

“We accept that we didn’t reach our two-gold target. I congratulate Goh Jin Wei for winning our sole gold. I’m also happy with Soniia (Cheah) and all the others who made it to the finals,” said Norza.

“It’s not a big achievement, but good exposure for some of our backup players.

“Our men’s singles is still a disappointment. We’ve to go back to the drawing board together with technical director Morten (Frost) and head coach Misbun (Sidek).

“I’m also unhappy with our players’ inability to finish off matches. They have a problem at the last mile.

“They give away leads and struggle to catch up. This is another area we need to look into,” added Norza, who celebrated his 51st birthday yesterday.