Knee injury proves too much for world No. 1

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei could have taken the easy way out by conceding a walkover in the second round of the Japan Open in Tokyo yesterday.

He was suffering from increasing pain on the left knee and although he was trailing 3-11 in the decider against Simon Santoso of Indonesia, Chong Wei continued with the fight. But this time, his perseverance did not pay off and he was beaten 19-21, 21-15, 21-19 in 67 minutes.

Chong Wei said that his efforts all ended in vain because the pain became unbearable at the crucial stages.

“I have aggravated an old injury in this tournament. The pain is in the same area as when I hurt myself during a training session three years ago,” he said in a telephone interview.

“I tried my best and called for time to tape the knee during the rubber game. I could have given up when I was trailing 3-11 but I did not want to lose that easily.

“This is a Yonex-sponsored event and I wanted to give my sponsor something to cheer about. Unfortunately, I had to give up against Simon’s persistent attacks at the end. I did not want to take a big risk by pushing it too hard.”

It was Simon’s first win this year over a highly-ranked player and his reward is a quarter-final match against compatriot and defending champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro today.

Chong Wei said that the defeat by Simon did not mean that his chances to win his first SEA Games individual gold medal in Laos in December had diminished.

The SEA Games competition will have a field of other strong contenders, including Sony, Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand and Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam.

“I am confident that I will be in better condition at the SEA Games. I will get proper treatment for this knee injury when I get back home,” he said.

“I am not competing in the Terengganu Open (Sept 30-Oct 3), Denmark Open (Oct 20-25). If I am not in good shape, I may even skip the French Open (Oct 27-Nov 1).

“It will give me ample time to work on my game. I think, Sony will still be the stronger challenger than Simon in the SEA Games.

“For now, it is important to stay free from any injuries. I do not want to take any risk and jeopardise my chances at the SEA Games and the other major tournaments next year, the Thomas Cup Finals, Asian Games and World Championships.”

Tien Minh continued his fine run on the international stage, beating Sho Sasaki 21-10, 21-18 for a quarter-final meeting against another Japanese, Kazeteru Kozai.

The other quarter-final matches will pit Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia against South Korean Park Sung-hwan and China’s Bao Chunlai against Denmark’s Peter-Gade Christensen.

Malaysia’s challenge also ended in the women’s singles when Wong Mew Choo went down 12-21, 21-18, 11-21 to Japanese Eriko Hirose.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 9:38 AM. Filed under Lee Chong Wei, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0