Courtesy of The Star : All-England: It's a go for Chong Wei by mervin menon Lee Chong Wei in training on Friday. He will meet Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in the first round of the All-England. KUALA LUMPUR: It’s all systems go for world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei. He will be leaving for the All-England tournament on Saturday night. The 31-year-old Penangite had on Friday stated that he may pull out of the tournament as he had not fully recovered from an ankle injury sustained two weeks ago during a doubles exhibition match with long-time rival Lin Dan of China. Chong Wei, who won the All-England in 2010 and 2011, however deemed himself fit enough to compete after Saturday’s final training session at the Juara Stadium. Although Chong Wei did not comment on the matter, national coach Tey Seu Bock confirmed his participation in the prestigious event. “Chong Wei will be making the trip to play in the tournament,” said Seu Bock, declining to comment on the injury. If all goes well for the singles shuttler, he will have a chance to exact revenge on world No. 2 Chen Long of China. Chen Long defeated Chong Wei in last year’s All-England final, and again last month at the Korean Open final. But first, the Malaysian ace will need to navigate past a tricky Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in the first round. http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Badminton/2014/03/01/All-England-Its-a-go-for-Chong-Wei/
Legend Gade offers Lee a warning By Richard EATON | AFP News – 13 hours ago Long-time badminton legend Peter Gade has offered a respectful warning to world number one Lee Chong Wei about what is needed to prolong his career. The 31-year-old Malaysian hopes to regain the All-England Open title this week, but has talked of relinquishing an attempt at another Olympic medal at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and of retiring this year. That would disappoint millions of Malaysians and countless others everywhere, who hope Lee might have another shot at winning his country's first gold medal in any Olympic sport. Gade has a view which might make this possible. Lee cannot compete as frequently as he has been and must either take a break or stop, says the former world number one from Denmark, who knows more about prolonging a singles career than any other player in the world. Gade competed longer than anyone at the highest level, retiring soon after the London Olympics at the age of 36, many years beyond that of any other leading player. "Lee Chong Wei is giving it everything and he will feel 'how far will I want to go'", Gade said. "He will want to push whatever he's got for his body and his mind. "But to be on top form and produce good results week after week is extremely difficult, and you won't see many athletes doing that. So I have a lot of respect that he is playing most of the tournaments. He is also playing his best when he plays. "Lin Dan is in a different situation - where he can make choices," Gade added, referring to the exceptional Chinese player who overcame Lee in the last two Olympic finals and who competes only occasionally these days. "Lin Dan is acting differently. I am not saying one player is wise and one is not wise. It's just that one is in a position where he can avoid the need to play tournaments. "Lee Chong Wei may feel he has to play them. He will see if he can hold up for every event. That makes a difference in big matches: it affects your physical edge, motivation and energy. "Lin Dan's response is wise. I know many people say he should play more tournaments, but there is a reason why he doesn't," Gade said, meaning that aiming for semi-finals and finals in every tournament would be tough for Lin too. He too will turn 31 this year. Gade speculates on the influences which cause Lee Chong Wei's fuller schedule. "Maybe it's sponsors, a lot of different elements, pressure from association, and other pressures - I can't say for sure from the outside," he said. "I won't say too much about that, but I do know what Chong Wei is doing is extremely tough, on the mind and the body. At some point he has to pull back and say 'either I stop or take a break'."
Whether it sponsor or association, the choice is himself. All I can see right now is greed. As long he's playing, BAM will never change its course.
There are some inside story that not many people know and not for public consumption. PLAYER POWER !!
[MENTION=39250]gundamzaku[/MENTION] Thought I'd move your comment here. Yes, LCW was in total control of the games. Mind you, CL was not playing at his top form, but still this version of LCW was truly fired up and hungry for the win. Complete domination physically, skill wise, and mentally. Glad he found his groove again. Oh, and for sure, this will help push up more sales of the new VTZF2.
With the VTZF-2, maybe I can hit those cross court shots !! With my current racquet, I am either hitting into the net or hitting out.
this is probably the very first time that i can see confidence oozing out of LCW based on his body language. even when he was walking around the court to cool down or flick sweat, his chest was out, and after the first game, it was even more obvious, as if he doesn't even see that CL is there!! i've been waiting for the confident LCW for as long as i have started watching badminton (2008)
lcw say cwf and liew daren as good as du peng yu or wang zheng ming(in training). but they didnt play well in tournament.