KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — World number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei has admitted that he needs to change strategy and playing tactics to win his first BWF World Badminton Championship title in Glasgow, Scotland from August 21-27.
The Rio Olympics silver medallist said his focus at the competition would not only be arch-rival Lin Dan, but also defending champion Chen Long, who entered on a wild card, as well as two other young Chinese players, Shi Yuqi and Tian Houwei.
Commenting on his performance in two consecutive defeats against Lin Dan in the Malaysian Open and the Asian Badminton Championships, Chong Wei said that his opponent’s play was in stark contrast to that during the Rio Olympics last year.
“I realise that my performance in the two finals against Lin Dan was not the best, I have discussed with the coach on the new strategy (to be deployed) after we evaluated the two games. We could see Lin Dan was using a new strategy,” he said when met at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM).
Chong Wei had earlier announced that his main goal this year was to win the World Championship after losing in the 2014 and 2015 finals to Chen Long, and prior to that against Lin Dan in 2011 and 2013.
However, his silver medal at the 2014 edition had been withdrawn by the BWF as he tested positive for doping.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) awarded a wild card slot to Chen Long as the reigning World Champion.
Chen Long missed out on automatic qualification to the 2017 World Championships based on the BWF world rankings on April 27 — the cut-off date to determine players eligible to play in tournament this.
“If I want to win the World Championship I have to play against all the players, there is no easy way out. I was also surprised Chen Long got the wild card, and there are another three players who qualified from China. The competition from other countries is also strong.
“I have to accept this challenge, as I said, it’s better for me to focus on my own preparation for the World Championships,” he said.
For coach Hendrawan, besides having new strategies and tactics, the most important thing for a professional player like Chong Wei was to restore his desire to win any tournament, especially the World Championship.
On Chen Long winning the wild card, he said Chong Wei should take it in a positive manner and double his efforts in training.
“I always tell Datuk (Lee Chong Wei) ‘fire’ (his will to win) must be the priority. Ahead of the World Championship, his spirit should be high, as it was during the Olympics... we could see the feeling of not wanting to lose from Chong Wei then.
“For now, we have to accept that Chong Wei lost. I believe in training after this, we can make some changes and I have also discussed with Chong Wei on the matter, ‘ he said. — Bernama
