TIME TO MOVE ON
BAM’s task now is to identify and groom players to better Chong Wei’s achievements
FORGET Lee Chong Wei. It is time for the BA of Malaysia (BAM) to identify and groom shuttlers good enough to surpass the achievements of the former World No 1.
Use Chong Wei as a benchmark instead of grooming a shuttler to match the nowretired shuttler’s feats.
Chong Wei won a total of 69 titles, including four All England and 12 Malaysia Open crowns, but sadly he came up short in winning an Olympic or world title.
The 37-year-old reached three Olympic Games finals in 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio), but lost to Lin Dan in the first two and to Chen Long in the other three years ago. At the World Championships, he made four finals but lost them all.
Several players have come and gone under the guidance of BAM but none managed to come anywhere near Chong Wei’s achievements.
Now, national singles coach Misbun Sidek has identified a player who has the potential of becoming a world class player.
His name is Lim Chong King.
Although fired up after being compared to Chong Wei by Misbun, the World No 373 knows the challenges he will have to face to achieve success.
Chong King is one of three juniors who were promoted to the national senior team early this year. The others are Ng Tze Yong and Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin.
“I am motivated to work harder than ever. And I will try my best not to let my coach (Misbun) down.
“However, I must not get carried away. Being compared to Chong Wei is an honour.
“He is a national legend and I am only at the start of my career.
“There is still a long way to go and if I want to come anywhere close to Chong Wei, I will need to work harder,” said Chong King.
At the recent Malaysia International Series in Ipoh, Chong King showed his class by recording several upsets before going down to compatriot and eventual champion Soong Joo Ven in the semi-finals.
Chong King believes he must improve on his strength and skills if he truly wants to be a top player.
“I was lucky enough to have had the chance to train with Chong Wei when he returned after undergoing treatment for cancer.
“Whenever I sparred with him, I couldn’t keep up. And this was Chong Wei after undergoing treatment.
“It clearly showed the gap between us. “If I ever want to reach that level, I need to beef up on my strength and skills,” Chong King explained.
The Kuala Lumpur-born is back in training but as he says, “I am not sure where I’ll play next but I will wait for my coach’s instructions. For now, it’s just training,” he added.