International badminton players express sadness and gratitude to Chong Wei

KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — “Going to court alone. No one accompanies me anymore,” China’s leading badminton player Lin Dan posted today on social media Weibo following the announcement of Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s retirement.

He also shared a song titled, ‘My friend, don’t cry’, in his posting on one of the biggest social media in China. Chong Wei has always been his biggest rival in badminton.

Besides Lin Dan, Denmark’s former badminton player Peter Gade, the world no.1 in 2006, also expressed his gratitude to Chong Wei for all the years they had shared together.

“Dear Lee Chong Wei. The badminton world will miss you in every way! Thank you for all the moments we’ve shared through the years. I wish you all the best in the coming years with your family and friends,” he said on his official Facebook page.

Another Dane, Viktor Axelsen, who is currently 6th in the world ranking men’s singles, also wished Chong Wei the best for his future.

Since the announcement of Chong Wei’s retirement today, his name has been trending on Twitter with nearly 10,000 tweets as at 7pm.

Twitter account @Thashaj tweeted that the badminton legend had helped bring Malaysians together and breaking racial barriers through his sporting career.

Another Twitter user @marxhyyy said: “You are everyone’s favourite. Thank you, Datuk LCW. Happy Retirement.”

Malaysians also flooded Chong Wei’s official Instagram account with positive comments on his recent post.

Malaysian social media were also today flooded with the public’s expressions of sadness over Chong Wei’s announcement of “hanging up the racket’ after 19 illustrious years of playing for the country on the international stage.

Chong Wei, 36, made the retirement announcement at a press conference at the Youth and Sports Minister’s office in the presence of the minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman. — Bernama