Kuala Lumpur: After Lin Dan, Kenichi Tago publicly pleading for Lee Chong Wei to return to the badminton court as soon as possible, Indonesian shuttler Simon Santoso and Derek Wong of Singapore said yesterday that they both missed the presence of the great badminton star.
After witnessing a sponsorship signing ceremony between their Purple League team Klang United BC and an insurance company, Derek Wong said that Lee Chong Wei’s absence would be a huge loss for the sport of badminton.
“I know Chong Wei is still waiting to get a hearing date from BWF (Badminton World Federation), but I hope he could return before start of the Olympic qualification period,” said Derek.
Simon Santoso stated he has learnt a lot from Chong Wei’s incident.
“I will be extra careful about my diet, I can’t take things lightly as the start of Olympics qualification period is approaching soon,” said Simon.
He hoped BWF could have a resolution to this matter as soon as possible, because Lee Chong Wei’s continued absence from badminton could have a detrimental effect on the sport.
Simon also hoped the Purple League could open to other international teams.
“There were few teams from Malaysia, Japan and Thailand took part in the Indonesian League last year, may be Purple League could invite some foreign teams to compete here in the future, ” added Simon.
