Lee’s success will draw big crowd to Malaysia Open

PETALING JAYA: Expect a great turnout at the Maybank Malaysia Open at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil following World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei’s triumph at the Korea Open in Seoul yesterday.

The local hero’s win over arch rival Lin Dan of China in the final will surely draw a bigger crowd than usual to the stadium for the home tournament, which begins with the qualifying matches tomorrow.

Yesterday, fans were already making their way to Bukit Jalil to book their tickets for the Open that has attracted most of the world’s top players, who are gearing up for this year’s Olympic Games.

Badminton Association of Malaysia ( BAM) general manager Kenny Goh was happy with the smooth sales of the tickets.

“Almost all the premier seats have been sold. Usually, the fans will assess the situation before purchasing the tickets but, this time, they have already started coming in. As this is also an Olympic year, we expect the stadium to be quite full. Chong Wei’s win will certainly generate even greater interest.”

Chong Wei will be out to win his home tournament for the eighth time and, interestingly, he has a few challenging opponents in his half, including China’s two former world junior champions - Chen Long and Wang Zhengming; South Korea’s Lee Hyun-il; Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat; and Japan’s Sho Sasaki.

In Lin Dan’s half are fellow countrymen Chen Jin and Du Pengyu; Denmark’s Peter-gade Christensen and Indonesia’s Simon Santoso.

The Malaysia Open is one of the three Super Series tournaments that Lin Dan has yet to win.