Kuala Lumpur: Lee Chong Wei will continue his pursuit for a record fourth Olympics berth, despite his heart-wrenching back-to-back losses at the Japan Open and Korea Open over the last two weeks. Lee is adamant he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level of badminton as he prepares to open his new campaigns at the Denmark Open and French Open.
After he signed a deal to play for Petaling Jaya Badminton Club (PJBC) in the 2015-2016 Kopiko Purple League (KPL) season, starting in November 2015, he insisted his setbacks have only made him stronger.
“The Japan and Korea Open were one of the worst results of my career,” admitted Chong Wei.
“I received harsh criticism for those losses, and I know critics are part of the game.”
“But those guys couldn’t change my love and passion for the game. I am not playing for them, I play for myself and my country. “
“I will try to improve my performance by taking part in a training session ahead of the Denmark Open and French Open.”
“My focus now is to earn as many points as possible to break into the world’s top 16 to have a chance at qualifying for the 2016 Olympics.”
“I am hoping for a top 10 finish by the end of this year. After that, I will be more selective in which tournaments I’ll play in 2016.”
Elaborating for the media about his relationship with coaches from Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Lee said he has been keeping in touch with Hendrawan and Tey Seu Bock regularly to ensure a smooth route into qualifying for the Olympic Games.
“I discuss issues that I encountered with them all the time as we devise our game plan in 2016, because this year has been very challenging for me.”
PJBC also picked up other top players at the signing ceremony, namely the 2003 All England champion Mohd Hafiz Hashim, former world No. 1 men’s doubles Koo Kien Keat, current No. 1 women’s doubles player Woon Khe Wei, and R. Satheishtharan.
The 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games women’s singles champion Michelle Li of Canada, Thailand’s Nichaon Jindapon and Bodin Issara and Indonesia’s Vita Marissa will join the PJBC team when the new season of Purple League set to kick off in November.
