# Wei Feng will give press conference during Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open
# Both parties part way officially from May 1
# Wei Feng still has a chance of donning national colours in Thomas Cup – Morten Frost
By Rizal Abdullah
SEA Games champion Chong Wei Feng has quit the national team after a series of disappointing results which left him out in the cold from vying for a place in the Rio Olympics.
The 29-year-old who hails from Sungai Petani, Kedah, however is still part and parcel of the national team until the end of April and will official part ways on May 1.
During this time the national No 2 will compete in the India Open Superseries in New Delhi which began today. He will also compete in the Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open in Shah Alam from April 5-10 and the Singapore Open SuperSeries from April 12-17.
Badminton Assoviation of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten has not ruled out Wei Feng from a place in the team to this year’s Thomas Cup Finals in Kunshan, China from May 15-22.
Wei Feng, however, will not say anything on the matter.
“I will give a press conference during the Malaysia Open on my resignation,” said Wei Feng from New Delhi on Tuesday.
Wei Feng has been struggling with his current form but the Kedahan has marked down three tournaments to turnaround his badminton career  – the India Open, Malaysia Open and the Singapore Open.
The 29-year-old Wei Feng, once No 12, is currently ranked No 45 in the latest Badminton World Federation ranking list and played the second singles for Malaysia in the last edition held in New Delhi in 2014. He was a reserve in the previous edition held in Yunan, China.
Wei Feng played a pivotal role in helping Malaysia reach an unexpected final but could not help the country stop Japan from a sensational 3-2 win to land their first ever Thomas Cup silverware and create badminton history.
In the India Open, he faces India’s B. Sai Praneeth in the first round in the qualifiers and a win will most likely earn him a repeat match against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto – the man who denied him a place in the All-England main draw.
“It has been tough on me playing in the qualifiers…where you have to play two matches within hours to make the main draw. This itself is a challenge,” said Wei Feng.
“Difficult times for me but I still have the fire in me to go far in my badminton career.”
Wei Feng will also have to go through the qualifiers in the Malaysia Open at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam and plays Japan’s Kenichi Tago in the first round.
