A cheerful Datuk Lee Chong Wei flew into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Birmingham on Tuesday – ready to put his shock first round defeat in the recent Yonex All-England Superseries Premier championships in Birmingham.
The unexpected defeat for the national No 1 men’s shuttler saw the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) withdraw him from the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold which began in Basel on Tuesday.
However, Chong Wei, who is ranked No 2 in the world after China’s Cheng Long, will next head to India for the Yonex Sunrise India Open Superseries in New Delhi from March 29-April 3 before competing in the Malaysian Open Superseries Premier which is scheduled to from April 5-10.
The Malaysian ace suffered a rare first round defeat in the prestigious All-England – the most sought after badminton title in the world of England.
Chong Wei, 33, was packed off by India’s rising star B Sai Praneeth in straight sets 24-22, 22-20 despite holding healthy leads in both sets.
His coach Hendrawan said the defeat could be a blessing in disguise and they have five months to work on his shortcomings.
“I will have to pay extra attention to my mental strength,” said Chong Wei on his return with Hendrawan.
Hendrawan added: “The training will be more intensive, both, physically and mentally to face the challenge in the Olympics. There are several aspects that will be looked upon in the five months before the Olympics.”
