Kuala Lumpur: The crowd at Malaysia Masters gave Lee Chong Wei a heartwarming round of applause during men’s singles award ceremony when Lee presented flowers to South Korea’s Son Wan Ho and China’s Chen Long.
The Malaysian badminton superstar is looking to return to the court at this year’s Malaysia Open after recovering from nose cancer that has kept him out of action since last July.
In the men’s singles final, Son Wan-Ho and Chen Long played an excellent badminton match which went in favor of the Korean after a 55-minute battle with the scoreboard reading 21-17, 21-19.
“Playing against Chen Long is always tough, so I am excited to win my first Malaysia Masters title,” said Son, who took home USD $26,250 for the win.
“Son Wan Ho played better at the end of both sets, but after all, I am satisfied with my performance,” said Chen Long.
When asked about what did Lee Chong Wei say to him during the award ceremony, Chen told reporters that they were chatting about playing in upcoming tournaments.
“Chong Wei was in good spirit, I told him I am looking forward to seeing him at the Malaysia Open in April,” added Chen.
In men’s doubles, Indonesia’s World No. 1 pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo showed their Malaysian opponents, World No. 27 Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi, that there was still quite a gap between the two pairs as they demolished Ong/Teo with 21-15, 21-16 in 36 minutes.
“It was a great game and the Malaysians were good in attack. We made a few mistakes but we are happy we won,” said the Indonesian pair after the match.