Finals to cherish
It may be last hurrah for Chong Wei’s contemporaries
WORLD No. 1 Lee Chong Wei will cherish this year’s Thomas Cup Finals the most as it could be the last time four of his contemporaries will be playing in the team event.
And Chong Wei was more than happy to pay tribute to each one of them – Peter Gade-christensen of Denmark, Lee Hyun-il of South Korea, Lin Dan of China and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.
Except for Taufik, he will be up against the others as the first singles shuttler in the Finals at Wuhan. Taufik will be playing as the second singles.
Chong Wei described each of them as unique on and off the court – colourful, flamboyant and intense characters who added their own flavours to the world of badminton.
“But, of course, I won’t hold back the punches if I face them in the Finals here ... it’s just that I intend to treat all our matches as a special one,” said Chong Wei.
“Some will quit for good after the London Olympics while some may linger around for another year or so before eventually calling it a day.”
Chong Wei also hailed Christensen, Lin Dan, Hyunil and Taufik as “great ambassadors of the game”.
“Christensen is a perfect role model for many. He is still playing good badminton at the ripe old age of 35 ... and that is impressive. He is one of the players with great skills and I will not forget all those times he mademe sweat,” he said.
Chong Wei is set to meet Christensen when Malaysia play Denmark in their second Group C tie on Tuesday. Denmark and Malaysia will take on South Africa today and tomorrow respectively.
“Hyun-il is another player I will miss when he leaves. His style of play is quite different. He is the most patient player I have met and he will stubbornly try to wear down his opponents. In my younger days, I found it frustrating playing against him.”
But, as far as Chong Wei is concerned, Lin Dan and Taufik are in a different league all together.
“There has been this great rivalry between Lin Dan and me.
“We are always trying to outwit each other. This rivalry is good for the sport,” he said.
“He has his strong points and I have mine ... and I guess that makes our rivalry interesting.
“But I will probably miss Taufik the most. He is such a charismatic and talented shuttler. One of the most distinct qualities about his ability is his backhand return.
“Taufik is also my good friend and he is also very much into business. I will probably be in constant touch with him after he leaves the sport.”
Asked if this will be his last Finals since he plans to quit after the 2013 World championships, Chong Wei said: “I am not sure yet. We still do not have depth in the men’s team and I intend to do my part in finding the right replacements before I go.
“Besides, it’ll be nice to have at least experienced what it feels like to win the Cup once!”