KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — The name Lim Chi Wing may not be as familiar to Malaysians as singles ace Lee Chong Wei, but this up and coming men's singles player is out to make his presence felt one tournament at a time.

Starting his competitive career in the sport at 10, Chi Wing was longtime a fan of the game, his admiration for South Korean shuttler, Son Wan-ho, being the motivating force that propelled him to do better.

"Although I wouldn’t consider anybody my idol, I admire the way Wan-ho played and I learnt a lot from him,” said Chi Wing.

Now at 21, Chi Wing has bagged the National Circuit title, previously held by Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, who did not participate this year.

Since winning the title, Kuala Lumpur-born Chi Wing will give it his all in the Purple League representing Kepong BC, in spite of team events not being a favourite of his.

"I prefer having control over my own fate and that isn’t the case for team events, but it’ll teach me teamwork,” he said.

"Sometimes what may seem like a bad idea for me may turn out to be something good.”

Chi Wing has since the beginning of the Purple League on December 12, won all but one of his matches, losing to Chong Wei Feng in the third match.

He was drawn to badminton when he was just seven while studying in SJK (C) Yoke Nam in Kuala Lumpur.

He enjoyed the support of his father and brother who sent him for badminton training programmes.

"My coach, Sankar Annamalai, saw potential in me and coaxed my father to send me for more training sessions so I could developed even further,” said Chi Wing.

Hoping to make the Olympic Games grade soon, Chi Wing says the hardest part of training for him is trying to match his lifestyle to the rigours of top class competition.

"So much needs to be sacrificed. Rest is the most important thing for me, especially when I manage to have some free time,” he said.

He feels his biggest hurdle is the lack of confidence and he hopes by winning more tournaments in the coming year, his confidence will grow.

His biggest accomplishment has been taking home the title at the Bangladesh International Challenge in 2014.