Chong Wei goes the extra mile ahead of World Championships

Discussion in 'World Championships 2005' started by chicteenager, Jul 29, 2005.

  1. chicteenager

    chicteenager Regular Member

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    The Star (July 30, 2005)


    PETALING JAYA: National men singles shuttler Lee Chong Wei returned 700 shuttle cocks in one stretch and stayed on court for a record 140 minutes without any breaks during training yesterday.

    And based on his diligence, the 22-year-old Chong Wei is certainly going all out in training ahead of his maiden World Championships, which will be played in Anaheim, California, from Aug 15-21.

    Yesterday, he teamed up with Wong Choong Hann and were up against three players during the drill.

    “The longest time I have done this similar drill – two player against three – was 70 minutes. Today, I forced myself to go the extra mile,” said Chong Wei after a training session at Michael Badminton Academy in Taman Megah.

    “The other day, I took about 30 minutes to return all the 700 birds sent by coach (Li Mao) all over the court. Every day, I changed 8-10 T-shirts.


    “What matters most is to stay focused. Whether I win or lose at the world meet, it will be satisfying to know that I have given my best in training,” said the world number five shuttler.

    After defeating three top players – Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and China's Bao Chunlai and Lin Dan – en route to winning the men's singles crown for the second time in the recent Malaysian Open, Chong Wei has placed himself as one of the contenders for the title in the world meet.

    Chong Wei is showing a better attacking game and is more crafty since coming under the charge of Chinese Li Mao in February.

    Li Mao was happy with the commitment shown by Chong Wei and the other Malaysian players in training.

    “My hand was aching as I was sending all those 700 birds to Chong Wei but it was good to know that he persevered all the way. It has been tough training but the players are giving their best. Today, I timed him and he just kept going,” said Li Mao.

    “I have trained players in China and South Korea but here the players sweat a lot. They can work for longer hours. It is a joy coaching the players here,” he said.

    Besides Chong Wei and Choong Hann, Malaysia will also be banking on Mohd Hafiz Hashim for honours at the world meet.

    Yesterday, the 22-year-old Hafiz had his share of heavy load in training as he went through a punishing session under coach Misbun Sidek at the Nusa Mahsuri's training centre in Kelana Jaya.

    At the previous world meet in Birmingham, Choong Hann was the runner-up to China's Xia Xuanze while Hafiz lost in the second round.
     

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