Genting: Even though he has retired from professional badminton for about 199 days, Malaysian badminton legend Lee Chong Wei clearly hasn’t left the hearts of badminton fans who were cheering on the former World No. 1 in “The Grand Match” that was held at the Arena of Stars, Genting on Saturday.
The event kicked off with a men’s singles match between World No. 6 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia and World No. 69 Iskandar Zulkarnain of Malaysia. Christie won the one-set exhibition match 21-15.
More than 1,500 fans gave Lee a warm welcome and a lot of energy when he first took to the court, partnering Goh Liu Ying in a mixed doubles match against Chan Peng Soon and Woon Khe Wei. Lee/Goh eventually won 11-6 before the 37-year-old badminton legend return to the court for the men’s doubles match.
Lee didn’t disappoint the fans as he and Chan Peng Soon defeated Christie/Zulkarnain 12-10.
Fans were entertained by the last exhibition match as Lee Chong Wei joined forces with Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying in a 3 on 3 match against Jonatan Christie, Iskandar Zulkarnain, and Woon Khe Wei.
The 3×3 match was originally scheduled to end at 11-point, but fans were treated with a special show when the match was changed to 21-point. At 21-21, Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying abruptly joined their “opponents”, leaving Lee Chong Wei facing five players on his own and he was able to score the last two points by winning the fun and excited match with 23-21.
The charity event had also raised a total of RM77,930 as Lee’s racket he used at the event fetched the highest bidding price of RM40,000. The jersey he wore and the racket he used in the Rio Olympic semi-final against Lin Dan have netted at RM24,888 and at RM6,666 respectively.
All proceeds raised from the auctions will go to Lee Chong Wei Foundation.
