The Star KUALA LUMPUR: National number one Lee Chong Wei had a favourable draw for the Athens Olympics last year but ended up a second-round casualty. For the World Championships beginning on Monday in Anaheim, California, Chong Wei also has a favourable draw and he is aware of the pitfalls of over-confidence. Chong Wei will be making his world meet debut and there are high hopes on him after his success in retaining the Malaysian Open title last month. The fifth seeded Chong Wei has an easier passage into the quarter-finals compared to Mohd Hafiz Hashim, who is in the top half of the draw with two formidable Chinese players – world number one Lin Dan and Chen Hong. Chong Wei is tipped to reach the quarter-final and in his path is another Chinese – the fourth seeded Bao Chunlai, a player he has beaten four consecutive times over the last two years. Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and second seed Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark is also in the same half of the draw as Chong Wei but the Malaysian will not get to meet either one of them until the semi-finals. Judging from his growing reputation on the world stage, Chong Wei certainly has the chance to go all the way. “I do not want a repeat of what happened in the Olympics. I also received a good draw then and I thought I had a good chance to go far. But I lost to Chen Hong in the second round,” he said. The 22-year-old Chong Wei, who defeated Taufik, Chunlai and Lin Dan en route to lifting the Malaysian Open title, stressed that it was important for him to treat all opponents with respect. “I have to be careful from the first round. A lesser rank player can be more dangerous because they have nothing to lose,” he said. The crafty Chong Wei opens his campaign against Jan Frohlich of the Czech Republic. He is expected to play against Martyn Lewis of Wales and Bjoern Joppein of Germany in the second and third round respectively. “This draw is okay but players like Chunlai is not easy to beat. I will give my best shot and hope to go as far as possible,” he said. Chong Wei has a good reason to deflect the attention on him. There is also the possibility of him playing against teammate Wong Choong Hann in the quarter-finals. The 10th seeded Choong Hann is drawn to play against Chunlai in the third round. If Choong Hann, who was the runner-up in the last championships, gets to a match against Chiong Wei, thing will get even more interesting.
