However, winning the French Open on Sunday has finally boosted his confidence as he continued to hunt for a spot at the Rio Olympics next year.

“I have learned that if you lose you are going to get criticised but that is something that I have to accept.

“It’s not easy because throughout my six years as the World No. 1, I’ve been never been eliminated earlier than the semis.

“But now, after losing so early in the last three tournaments, I had to learn to play through the pressure.

“I have 10 days to prepare for China and Hong Kong, so I need to prepare well because what is important right now is to build my confidence for the Olympics,” he told Utusan Malaysia yesterday.

Chong Wei will next compete at the China Open on Nov 10-15, followed by the Hong Kong Open on Nov 17-22.