Kuala Lumpur: If there was actually any question about Lee Chong Wei’s next career move, it will end Thursday.
The 37-year-old Malaysian badminton legend will hold a special press conference at Menara Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS), Putrajaya, 12.30pm on Thursday to reveal the next step in his badminton career. He will be accompanied by president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Norza Zakaria and Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman at the press conference.
Last Friday, Malaysian media has reported that the former World No. 1 would hold a press conference to make an announcement regarding his future career this week.
However, the president of BAM responded by saying the announcement would only be made after a joint meeting between Lee and BAM.
Lee originally planned to play at the 2019 All England Open in March but delayed his return to Malaysia Open. He was then advised to withdraw from Malaysia Open, where he was the defending champion. Since then, he has reportedly not been attending training with the Malaysian national for a month.
Lee was diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer last July, and had underwent a grueling treatment process in Taiwan but chose not to retire and began light training in January.
The legendary Malaysian badminton icon has captured a staggering 46 Super Series titles, and has spent a whopping 349 weeks, including a 298-week streak from 2009-2014 as the world No. 1. However, Lee who still hopes to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has yet to receive a green light from his doctors to return to competitive badminton.