TheStar Dec 11, 05 PETALING JAYA: Making comebacks is the story of shuttler Lee Wan Wah’s life. He has been in and out of the national team since 2002. Now, after withdrawing from the Manila SEA Games with a nagging knee injury, the 31-year-old from Perak is back on his feet. Together with his faithful partner Choong Tan Fook, he is planning to represent Malaysia in four major tournaments next year. The tournaments are the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Thomas Cup Finals in Japan, World Championships in Madrid and the Asian Games in Doha. In all four events, the title has eluded him. Wan Wah said he had enjoyed a good second half of the year since making a comeback from another injury in June. “I showed gradual improvement. It was good to win at least one title, “ he said. The Singapore Open was his first tournament this year since he injured his knee after the Athens Olympic Games but he crashed out in the second round. He, however, did better in the China Masters (runner-up), Indonesian Open (semi-finals) and Dutch Open (champion). His first major lay off came after the Thomas Cup Finals in Guangzhou in 2002. He went for surgery but made a strong comeback and even reached the All-England final in 2003. On his SEA Games outing, Wan Wah said: “It felt good to help Malaysia beat Indonesia for the team gold. Unfortunately, I had to withdraw from the doubles because of my knee injury. Still, it was a great showing for my teammates and for me.” Wan Wah, meanwhile, has several immediate tasks to accomplish. “In 2002, I did not compete in the Manchester Commonwealth Games because of injury. I will certainly be out to achieve my best results in the four major tournaments lined-up for me,” he said. “But first, I will compete in the invitational World Cup in Guangzhou next week. I also hope to do well with Tan Fook in the All-England,” he said. The All-England will be held from Jan 17-22. Before that, though, there was something more important to do. Yesterday, the lanky Wan Wah got married to May Han at the Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel.
