Badminton

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s best medal hope at the Beijing Olympics, badminton star Lee Chong Wei, is primed to upset China’s world number Lin Dan on home soil and win gold.

The world number two, boosted by beating Lin at the recent Thomas Cup tournament, plans to make the most of his trip to China.

“We shouldn’t be thinking about getting a second chance when we are talking about the Olympics,” he told the New Straits Times.

“This special event is held once every four years and that second opportunity may never come.”

Now 26, Chong Wei is one of the world’s most consistent performers and he wants to make amends for his crushing defeat by Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the third round of the world championships last year.

While Lin will be his main threat, he is also wary of players such as South Koreans Lee Hyun-Il and Park Sung-Hwan, Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, and defending Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.

The pressure is building but he feels he can cope.

“A player is lying if he says there is no pressure. We are talking about winning an Olympic medal and the pressure will be greater in Beijing,” he said.

“Having said that, any player from the top eight of the world rankings is good enough to win a medal and I need to remain focused from the first round to be in the running.”

His coach Misbun Sidek said Chong Wei’s confidence had been restored since his crushing disappointment at last year’s worlds in Malaysia.

“He is coping well with the expectations that come with being rated as Malaysia’s medal hope in the Olympics,” he told The Star newspaper.

“He is more relaxed about it compared to previously when he tended to get agitated easily and lose focus.

“In the past, he would be afraid of certain players but he now talks with confidence on how he can beat them.”

Malaysia’s Beijing-bound badminton squad have been training individually but will join up from Monday for final preparations. — AFP