KUALA LUMPUR, June 13
Malaysia’s badminton king Lee Chong Wei, a three-time Olympics silver medalist and former world No. 1, announced his retirement today as prolonged health issues after battling cancer dashed his hopes of a comeback. Lee, who was diagnosed with early stage nose cancer last year, said he opted to retire after being told by doctors that his body could no longer take the intense training needed for high-level competition.
“It was a very heavy decision for me because I really love this sport, but the important thing now is my health,” he said.
Lee is one of the Malaysia’s most popular and successful sportsmen. In 2006, he reached the No. 1 ranking, a position he would go on to hold for a record 348 weeks in total. He took a break from competition last September for cancer treatment, but returned to training in January with the goal of attaining Malaysian’s maiden gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Months, however, passed without any sign of Lee returning to competition. His ranking slipped to 191 in the world, erasing hopes that he would be able to qualify for Tokyo. While he will no longer be competing, Lee said he will still be heading to Japan in 2020 as Malaysia’s chef de mission for the Games. “I couldn’t get (the gold medal), but I hope Malaysian athletes can get one gold for Malaysia — that will also be my dream,” Lee said.
Lee holds 69 singles titles but success at major Championships has eluded him and he has often come up short against his arch-nemesis, China’s Lin Dan. — Reuters
3 Time Olympics silver medallist (2008, 2012, 2016)
69 Titles the Malaysian won in his career. He has 705 wins. He has a record 47 Superseries titles
Know Lee
DOB: 21 October 1982
Men’s singles medals
Olympics: 3 silver medals (2008, 2012, 2016)
World Championships:
3 silver (2011, 2013, 2015)
All England: 4 gold (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017)
Asian Games: 1 silver (2010), 2 bronze (2006, 2014)
b3 gold (2006, 2010, 2018)
In 2006, he became world No. 1 for the first time. He held the position for a record 348 weeks
At the age of 34 years and 142 days, Lee was the oldest player in the Open era to win the 2017 All England
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2wS8TTl
via Today’s News Headlines
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