Kuala Lumpur: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has decided to withdraw from the Taiwan Open on Tuesday. The Taiwan Open which will be held from June 28 to July 3 will be Lee’s last tournament before the Rio Olympics.
Lee Chong Wei strained a muscle in his left hip before the Indonesia Open final and later pulled out of the Australian Open. After a careful assessment and to avoid aggravating the injury, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have agreed to pull him out of the Taiwan Open.
“We pulled him out because we’re not completely sure if he’s ready to play after his injury in Australia,” said BAM’s technical director Morten Frost.
“He is showing good progress with our training programme. The nice and relaxed atmosphere in our training facility also help Chong Wei in his mental preparation,” added Frost.
“All our players have been working very hard. We are currently deciding on the sparring partners for the Olympics. We have requested more entry passes for the sparring partners from the Olympic Council of Malaysia because we currently only have two day passes for them,” said Frost.
After Lee’s withdrawal, the No. 1 seed Chen Long of China has become the overwhelming favorite at Taiwan Open.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin will lead the Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles event together with Goh Soon Huat, Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren, Goh Giap Chin, Tan Chun Seang and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif.
World No. 12 Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong, Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi and Hoon Thien How/Teo Kok Siang will participate in the men’s doubles category; while Tee Jing Yi and Ho Yen Mei will represent Malaysia in women’s singles; Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying and Tan Kian-Meng/Lai Pei Jing in mixed doubles and Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei, Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean are set to play in women’s doubles.
