Buoyant Chong Wei wary of threats for his quest to win first world title

Posted by Lucas Liau Top News 2:58 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: The expectation on world No. 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei to become the country’s first world champion has sky-rocketed after his brilliant run in the international stage so far.
But over-confidence and the presence of three “musketeers” from China – Lin Dan, Chen Jin and Chen Long – can ruin the party for Chong Wei at the World Championships, which will be held in London from Aug 8-14.
Although buoyed by his impressive form so far, Chong Wei has learnt that it is better to keep his feet on the ground. And he vowed to bury the ghosts of his two past disappointments in his bid to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a world champion after failing to do so in his last five attempts.
On Sunday, Chong Wei nailed his fourth Indonesia Open men’s singles title which was his sixth crown of the year.

“I have been in a similar situation before. I will enter the world championships as the favourite but somehow, I will lose early. This time, I do not want to be subjected to the same disappointment,” said Chong Wei.
Chong Wei was the top seed going into the world championships in Hyderabad (2009) and Paris (2010) but he failed to go beyond the quarter-finals. He was also a quarter-finalist in the 2006 series in Madrid but crashed out in the third round of the 2007 World Championships in Kuala Lumpur when he froze in front of his rooting home fans.
His best achievement was at his maiden world meet in Anaheim in 2005 when he reached the semi-finals.
This time, Chong Wei said that he is determined to handle the pressure that comes with the expectations in the best way he can.
“It is not easy to enter final after final in every tournament but I have done it for the last six months. It gives me a lot of confidence but I also know the danger of feeling cocky with all these achievements,” said Chong Wei. “It will not do me good to be over confidence. I will treat the world championships just like another Super Series event and continue to do well.”
Chong Wei said China’s players – Lin Dan, Chen Jin and Chen Long – would still be his stumbling blocks.
“China will still enter the world championships as one of the favourites. If one falls, the other waits to strike. They will still be the players to beat at the world meet,” said Chong Wei.
“Of course, there are others that I have to be wary off, like Peter (Gade Christensen of Denmark) and Taufik (Hidayat of Indonesia). They are experienced and their performances have been quite good in recent times.
Chong Wei also hopes that he can stay injury free.
“I have a few more weeks to prepare for the world meet. It is important to have good rests in between training. The more important thing is to stay away from injuries. I was hampered by back injury last year (at the world meet in Paris) and I do not want to face the same experience again,” he added.
National coach Teh Seu Bock is hoping that the centralised training at Bath University from July 27-Aug 4 would help fine tune Chong Wei’ s focus for the world meet.
“It is good that we will some extra days in London before the world meet. It will help Chong Wei to stay focused, without having to face any distractions. He is able to handle situation better now and let’s hope all his hard work and sacrifices will be rewarded at the world meet,” said Seu Bock.
Besides Chong Wei, Malaysia will also be represented by Wong Choong Hann in the men’s singles but the veteran has been struggling to find his footing after leaving the national team after the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
Malaysia’s best result in the men’s singles event in the world meet came through Choong Hann at the 2003 edition in Birmingham when he reached the final.