Lee's Olympic bubble Bodyguards protect world No 1 shuttler who admits injury phobia in lead-up to London by Dan Guen Chin 04:45 AM May 09, 2012 SINGAPORE - The pursuit to win his country's first ever Olympic badminton gold medal has left Malaysian star Lee Chong Wei in a virtual cocoon. Since February, the world No 1's every waking moment has been accompanied by two bodyguards selected from the best of the Malaysian Police Special Forces wherever he goes, a move by the Home Ministry to protect him from unwanted attention. Lee picked up his 43rd career win with a 3-0 victory over Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro at the recent Malaysian Grand Prix Gold tournament in Johor Bahru. However, fans, well-wishers and even the media have been told to keep their distance. Even though there are still 79 days to the London Olympics, Lee doesn't mind being confined in this bubble as he told Today that bettering his silver medal finish at the Beijing Games four years ago will be even harder this time. "The Chinese are all out to beat me. They have got Chen Jin, Chen Long and of course Lin Dan, all seeded in the top three bracket, to deny me the title," said Lee. "That is why I need to prepare well for the Olympics, without the interruption and all the unwanted attention. I need to be left alone sometimes to stay focused on the mission ahead." The London Games will be held from July 27 to Aug 12, with the badminton competition scheduled for July 28 to Aug 5 at the Wembley Arena, where Lee lost 2-1 to Lin in the final of last year's World Championships. With pressure mounting on him to deliver Olympic gold this time, the Malaysian badminton authorities decided it was best that Lee be left alone and not be harassed by the constant demand for his attention. But having sustained an injury to his right shoulder which forced him to concede his quarter-final clash with Lin at the All-England Championships in March, Lee is well aware that things can still go wrong, and at 29, the demands will start to take their toll on him. "I am still on treatment for the shoulder injury but mentally I feel a lot better now, especially after the win over Sony," Lee said. "I have this phobia about the injury coming back to haunt me after I made my return to competition at the Indian Open two weeks ago, following a one-month rest. "But things look OK now. I am brave enough to execute a full-blooded smash and take chances with whatever shots needed." Lee will have two other heavyweight events to contend with in the Thomas Cup, to be held in Wuhan, China later this month and the Indonesian Open in July before the London Olympics. Despite the immense pressure on him to deliver on all three fronts, Lee is keeping calm. He said: "The Thomas Cup is important for Malaysia, but so is the Olympics. "I am also the defending champion in the Indonesian Open Premier series. So the next three tournaments are important to me but I am not going to think too much into it. "Focus. Concentrate. Stay strong and at the of the day, win or lose it doesn't matter." Lee wants to be left alone so he can focus on winning gold at the London Games. GETTY IMAGES
I have to say, after losing out in the 1st game to Sony, LCW was a completely different person who steamrolled past Sony with so many sideline smashes and body smashes, it looked like LCW was playing by a rule called 'thou shall not play without a smash'. And I feel it was different too, compared with the way he played against Korean ,Shon Wan and I hope this Korean's win is not just a flash in the pan. Seeing LCW unleashed his power non stop for 2 straight games again Sony, I hoped he does not peak too early and is able to play like this for the Olympics. This is what we need! Full of confidence of a champion from B. Mertajam.
So, is he going to treat OG as another SS or is this different this time? With 2 bodyguards, it sure feels different. Hope he doesn't crack up again.
did anybody notice when final with sony... he changed drastically of playing style for 2nd set n 3rd set? that is the secret weapon for Olympic
that secret weapon might dangerous to his win opportunity. He shouldnt do that when his opponent like lin dan, chen long etc. He shouldnt do a silly error if he want to win GOLD medal.
In my opinion, if it is a secret weapon for OG2012, it should only be released at OG2012 , since releasing it at the Mas GP Gold 2012 would result on CBA scientist to have enough time to inspect & provide LD with several antidotes.
What secret weapon? They sky will drop if he has a secret weapon. Remember the 'secret weapon netting thingy'? My foot, secret weapon. Still loose. Doesn't impress me so far.
Two bodyguards for LCW!!! Great publicity for BN and maybe more votes, provided the Datuk can deliver the gold. Anything less will not do. Good thing: LCW has been elevated to Ministerial status, maybe some ministers do not even have bodyguards. But two bodyguards means he is almost equivalent to PM calibre! So BN has very high hopes on him - a national treasure! A national hero if he delivers BN's dreams. Bad thing: The pressure on the Datuk is tremendous. He is being almost "isolated" to concentrate on winning the Olympic gold. This may backfire and he may not be able to perform at his peak. Let's see whether the Datuk's mental strength can prevail.
Yes, still remember the last TC in Malaysia...also talking about secret weapon......then we see LD display his 'break dance' in Stadium Putra.........in last year WC....they talk about special net shots LD still emerged as Winner....lucky didnt have to play CL at that time....!! Be mature a bit la......just work hard, dont talk too much la........!!
LCW better just treat this coming OG as just another ordinary SS event.......to lessen the pressure !! But its easy do the talking but hard in doing it !!
I believe he might able to do it when facing non CBA players.. Once he encounters CL, CJ & LD, the pressure will be coming back moreover those CBA Gurus will shout loud from the opposite court. They know LCW weakness is lack of confidence, they will exploit it during OG to ensure LCW does not ruin their party.
The last time he didn't join the team for the centralized training he lost to Taufik Hidayat early in the World Championships...
[h=1]No 24-hour police guard for Chong Wei[/h] World No 1 shuttler quashes rumours of round-the-clock protection Friday, May 11, 2012 - 13:11 by Andrew Sagayam KUALA LUMPUR: World No 1 badminton player Datuk Lee Chong Wei quashed rumours and news reports that he is being guarded round the clock by Special Action Unit (UTK) offi cers of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) under the Home Ministry’s instruction. The allegations surfaced following his 43rd career win in the recent Malaysian Grand Prix Gold tournament in Johor Baru where he was shadowed by two UTK bodyguards, said to be PDRM’s best, selected to protect him from unwanted attention. “No no, it’s not true. The two so-called bodyguards are actually local policemen who escorted me from the badminton hall to my car before and after the tournament. They are not UTK personnel as people, including the media, assumed. The policemen did not want the public to harass me during the tournament, that’s all,” Lee told The Malay Mail on Wednesday. When asked, as reported by a Singapore online news portal, if the bodyguards had been with him since February to help focus on winning the country’s fi rst Olympic badminton gold medal, he replied: “I don’t know where the writer got this information. It is not true. I have my personal bodyguard who has been working for me for some years now.” On Wednesday, the Singapore news portal reported that with the pressure mounting on Lee to deliver Olympic gold medal this year, Malaysian badminton authorities decided it was best the 29-year-old is not be harassed by the constant demand for his attention. This, in addition to an injury to his right shoulder which forced him to concede a walk over against Lin Dan at the All-England fi nal in March, the news portal claimed that the Malaysian government wanted Lee to focus on the mission ahead. “I am recovering from that shoulder injury but I feel a lot better now, especially after my 3-0 victory over Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro in Malaysian Grand Prix tournament ,” he said. Lee has to prepare well for the Olympics and it would be best to be without interruption and unwanted attention. The London Olympics will be from July 27 to Aug 12, with badminton scheduled from July 28 to Aug 5 at the Wembley Arena. This was where Lee lost 2-1 to Lin in the final of last year’s World Championships. Before facing the London Olympics, Lee has two heavyweight events to handle, the Thomas Cup in Wuhan, China, and the Indonesian Open in July. http://www.mmail.com.my/story/no-24-hour-police-guard-chong-wei