Chong Wei just a step away from Championships final

Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei hits a return to Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto during their men's singles quarter-final match at the 2013 Badminton World Championships in Guangzhou, August 9, 2013.

World number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei overpowered Indonesian ace Tommy Sugiarto to stroll into the semifinals of the 2013 World Badminton Championships at the Tianhe Gymnasium, here, today.

The top seed in the tournament showed why he is still the World number one as he took just 35 minutes to sweep aside the Indonesian pretender to the title, 21-6, 21-9, which was a flattering score by world standards.

Chong Wei will now meet third seed Du Pengyu of China who overcame India’s rising star Parupalli Kashyap 16-21, 22-20, 21-15 in a three-set thriller.

In another quarterfinal match played earlier, defending champion Lin Dan from China beat his fellow countryman Chen Long 21-13, 22-20, to keep his hopes of winning a fifth world championship very much alive.

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Badminton Chong Wei finds his groove

Lee Chong Wei found his groove again after a testing second round encounter on Wednesday as he cruised into the World Championships quarter-finals together with men's doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong at Tianhe Indoor Gymnasium in Guangzhou on Thursday.

Chong Wei, who was stretched to three games by Indonesian Dioniysius Hayom Rumbaka on Wednesday, showed his true class as he annihilated young China pretender Wang Zhengming with a 21-12, 21-7 win in 37 minutes.

A confident Chong Wei will be taking his fiery form into the quarter-final stage where he will meet Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia, who overcame Marc Zwiebler of Germany 21-19, 21-14, on Friday.

"I watched the video of Zhengming against Vladmir (Ivanov of Russia) and prepared early to meet him. I adapted myself well to the draught and I didn't expect it to be an easy victory," said Chong Wei.

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Shuttlers kicked out of training venue as Sukma takes precedence

The World Championships-bound shuttlers were not smiling after a hard day’s work at their national training centre in Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday.

Besides having to deal with the worsening haze in the country, they have been told that they cannot use the stadium from today onwards as it will be used for the 16th Malaysia Games (Sukma). The Games begin on Thursday and the netball event will be held there.

The shuttlers, who are preparing for the world meet in Guangzhou from Aug 5-11, can only resume training at the stadium on July 8.

With the move to accommodate Sukma, the national coaches will now have to find their own venues for training.

It will also mean that the singles and doubles players will not be training together.


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Chong Wei puts on ‘weight’ and it suits him fine

World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei is putting on “weight” in his bid for glory at the World Championships in Guangzhou, China, from Aug 5-11.

The 30-year-old has been wearing a new and funky high-tech performance suit in training since last week. Named Lila, it is a locally-made brand and created by Joseph Dolcetti, a former head of the conditioning department at the National Sports Institute (NSI).

Weights are attached to the suit, which uses the Exogen technology (High Performance Exoskeletons), and the wearer can load up to 10% of his body weight.

“Age is catching up. So, I am game to try out anything new in sports science to give me power and speed to keep up with the youngsters. Why not embrace it if it helps. I have tried Lila and I am comfortable with it,” said Chong Wei, the first Malaysian athlete to adopt the new weight training programme.

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Kingston brings luck

BAM patron Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor congratulates Lee Chong Wei after he helped Malaysia to a 3-1 win over Thailand in the Axiata Cup final at the Cheras Badminton Stadium yesterday.



BABY Kingston is already bringing luck to his father Lee Chong Wei. The World No 1 guided Malaysia to a 3-1 win over Thailand at Cheras Badminton Stadium in the Axiata Cup final at Cheras Badminton Stadium yesterday.


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Still not fully fit

LEE Chong Wei's shoulder injury is not serious but the shuttler can forget about making a speedy return to competitive badminton as he requires three to five weeks to recover.

National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz, in confirming the recovery period, stressed that Chong Wei would not be fully fit to play in tournaments during this period.

This puts the World No 1's participation in the mega-bucks Axiata Cup in doubt.

The preliminary round -- in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta -- is this weekend while the home and away semi-finals will be held on March 30-April 1 and the final on April 13-15.





Lee Chong Wei (right) and coach Tey Seu Bock at Damansara Specialist Centre recently.

"Normally, this kind of an injury is associated with another injury but fortunately, it didn't happen to Chong Wei," said Dr Ramlan.

"Treatment started last week but he still feels pain which is due to spasms caused by the tightness of the shoulder muscles. Chong Wei doesn't need to undergo an operation as the current treatment will help heal the shoulder completely.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei beats China's Lin Dan in Korea Open

Malaysia's Datuk Lee Chong Wei beats China's Lin Dan 12-21, 21-18, and 21-14 at the Korea Open Super Series badminton championships in Seoul, South Korea today to win his first title of the year.

Sudirman Cup: Convincing win for China

Host China beat Japan 5-0 in their final group match in the Sudirman Cup world badminton mixed team championships on May 24 night, to emerge as the group winners for a place in the last eight.

Sudirman Cup: Malaysia beat Russia 4-1

The Malaysian badminton team overcame Russia with a 4-1 victory in their Group B match at the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships Monday night. With the win, Malaysia is through to the last eight.

Chong Wei bemoans lack of depth in Malaysia

Lee Chong Wei: “Go the extra mile.”

Badminton world No. 1 Datuk Lee Chong Wei has delivered a withering putdown to his fellow Malaysian shuttlers who, he says, are not prepared to “go the extra mile”.

The Malaysian remains unbeaten in domestic competition for eight years and, after winning the Perak Open at the weekend, said Malaysia’s back-up shuttlers would have to change their attitudes if they were to get anywhere in the sport.

“We have a group of players who depend too much on the coaches,” Lee told The Star. “They are neither analytical nor want to go the extra mile.

“From my observation, they are unable to cope with the drills every day of a week. They slow down half way. This is same attitude they show on the court. They give up when the pressure gets to them.

“I have come a long way and there is no short cut. It is all about hard work,” the 28-year-old added.

Lee absolved Malaysia’s coaches from blame, saying the problem lay squarely on the shoulders of the players.

Golden finish for Malaysia

Malaysia closed the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games campaign on a high note, winning four golds today for a record total of 12 golds, surpassing the 10 won at the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1998.

Badminton, as expected, provided three golds while the surprise fourth came from gymnast Elaine Koon in the hoop discipline.

Elaine won her gold with 25.300 points at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. She also took the silver in the individual ball discipline and a bronze in the rope apparatus. It was a fruitful outing for Elaine in Delhi. On Wednesday, she won bronze in the individual women’s rhythmic gymnastics all round.

"I am so happy, I can’t believe it. Today is my best event ever," a jubilant Elaine said after winning the gold.