Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten Frost has praised Lee Chong Wei for his courageous effort against world number one Chen Long in the quarter-finals of the Chinese Taipei Open, which ended yesterday.
Gunned with a mission for a third title in a row, Chong Wei was on track to upset Chen Long after winning the first game 21-17 before Chen Long leveled things up by clinching a tightly contested second game, which ended 22-20.
However, Chong Wei could not make the most of the momentum, which eventually resulted in him going down 21-13 in the deciding set, in a match which lasted an hour and 17 minutes.
Even though Chong Wei lost, Frost is in confident mood and believes that Chong Wei’s performance will only get better at the World Championships in Jakarta next month.
“It was a very good match, there is no need to push the panic button just yet. Chong Wei showed a good mixed game play but Chen Long was just slightly better on the day,” Frost commented, as stated in Fox Sports Asia.
“Still it’s better to lose today than to lose during the World Championships in Jakarta.”
With that win, Chen Long holds an 11-9 meeting record over Chong Wei, and will enter the World Championships as the favourite.
Chen Long won the Chinese Taipei Open on Sunday, defeating world no. 8 Chou Tien-Chen 15-21, 21-9, 21-6.
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