WORLD No. 1 Lee Chong Wei had some positive words for his successors – Chong Wei Feng and Liew Daren, who both bowed out from the World Championships on Thursday.
The 26-year-old Wei Feng had China’s Lin Dan by the throat in the opening game before going on to lose 20-22, 10-21 in the third round while Daren went down 18-21, 15-21 to second seeds Chen Long, also of China.
“Wei Feng did quite well against Lin Dan but could not catch up towards the end. This is his first world meet … although he’s not that young, he has been playing better and better,” said Chong Wei.
“Wei Feng and Daren have been sparring with me and we play quite a lot of matches. It is my hope that they will learn as much as possible from me and go on to achieve good results. I believe they can.”
In the men’s doubles, Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong, who are also seen as successors to Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, failed to progress after going down fighting 13-21, 20-22 to four-time world champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China.
Independent shuttlers Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif also could not keep their momentum going, falling 21-21, 7-21 to Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan.
