KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — National badminton legend Datuk Lee Chong Wei plans to expand his newly launched Lee Chong Wei Cup into an international tournament next year.

The former world No. 1 men’s singles player said he aimed to obtain sanctioning from Badminton Asia for the international edition while continuing to run the local tournament.

“I have already planned two tournaments for next year, one local and one international… The second will be an international tournament.

“We are looking for a time slot and seeking sanctioning from Badminton Asia. We need to fix the dates carefully because I don’t want to clash with other junior tournaments in Indonesia or elsewhere,” he told reporters on the final day of Lee Chong Wei Cup at Stadium Juara, Bukit Kiara, here on Sunday.

The three-time Olympic Games men’s singles silver medallist also said that national coaches kept a close eye throughout the event to scout potential talent for Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) trials at the end of the year.

However, Chong Wei, who is also BAM performance committee chairman, pointed out that selection would not be restricted solely to players who reached the finals or semi-finals.

“Even someone who reached the quarter-finals might show talent and get called up.

“Even if they lost early, if we see talent, we might call them for selection to see how they progress in training at BAM,” he said.

The 43-year-old Penangite was also satisfied with the overwhelming response to the nine-day tournament, which attracted over 2,200 junior participants nationwide across three categories, namely Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17.

The inaugural Lee Chong Wei Cup, which kicked off August 29 and concluded today, offered a total prize pool of RM104,000. — Bernama