PETALING JAYA, Aug 13 — National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz stressed the cramps suffered by world No. 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei was a genuine case due to the lack of ventilation at the Tianhe Sports Center in Guangzhou, China.
The air-conditioning in the hall was switched off during the second set in the World Championships men’s singles final between host player Lin Dan and Lee.
Lee, who had won 21-16 in the first set before going down 21-12 in the second set, was trailing 20-17 before calling it quits.
Lee had to stop play earlier and was attended to by the tournament doctor. He, however, continued to play only to retire due to cramps. Later he was rushed to the hospital and was put on intravenous drips. Lee was discharged late Sunday night.
“I cannot understand when people say it was another drama. No it wasn’t,” said Dr Ramlan.
“The minute he squatted for the first time, I thought it was a cardiovascular problem. But when he sat down at the sidelines and started flapping his thighs, I knew it had something to do with cramps.
“It happened mainly due to the fact there was no air-conditioning. That caused spasm in his muscles.”
It was obvious Dr Ramlan was unhappy with the manner Lee was attended to by the tournament doctor. However, he said: “Let’s leave that for another day.”
Some argued Lin Dan was also exposed to the same situation but was fit throughout the match.
“Chong Wei had a late match and was stretched to three sets. Lin Dan played earlier on Saturday and finished the game in two sets. It does make a difference.”
Five NSI officials — team leader-cum-video analyst Jerry Gan, physiotherapist Fadzil Salleh, nutritionist Chai Weng Jin and two masseurs — accompanied the team to China.
Nevertheless, Dr Ramlan admitted there was a lesson to be learnt.
“Now we know that some organisers will turn off the air-conditioning for reasons they know best. So we need to work around this and make sure our athletes are fully prepared to face such situations.”
