Kuala Lumpur: Despite being knocked out by Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the second round of Indonesia Open two weeks ago, Lin Dan remains the biggest enemy for World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei in Rio.
Lin Dan who is regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time, and who twice denied Lee the men’s single’s gold medal at both the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, could be very tough to beat in Rio.
“Both Lin Dan and Chen Long pose serious threats to me in Rio, but at major tournaments, Lin Dan is a bigger threat to me than Chen Long,” said Lee.
Lee also stressed that would not underestimate both Lin Dan and Chen Long even though both of them had not been doing well in the recent tournaments.
“They may have lost in Premier Super Series tournaments but they can rise to the occasion if they want to, especially in major tournaments.”
“Since the Olympics happen once every four years, it is a combination of the mental game and physical strength that gets the players to the podium.”
“Having said that, players such as Jan O Jorgensen and Viktor Axelsen from Denmark, Srikanth Kidambi (India), Tommy Sugiarto (Indonesia) and others from Europe, Asia and Hong Kong are all very tough opponents as well.”
“I will spend my next two months to strengthen my mental and physical toughness.”
Although Lee Chong Wei was seeded second in the upcoming Yonex Chinese Taipei Open that will be held from June 28 to July 3, Technical director of Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Morten Frost Hansen told reporters that they haven’t decided whether they’ll send Lee to the tournament.
Even if he withdraws from the Taiwan Open, Lee Chong Wei would remain the World No. 1 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings until the Olympics.
