Despite ongoing talks of having badminton ace Lee Chong Wei included in the list of players for the Badminton Asia Team Championship (BATC), there has been a turn of events in the ultimate decision as Chong Wei will be having it his own way and not be a part of the squad that will be playing in Hyderabad, India.
Chong Wei previously requested to be excluded from the BATC, which is serving as a qualifier for the Kunshan Thomas Cup but the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) were keen on having the former world number one on the list to motivate the players. The topic gathered disagreement from both parties at first but the decision has finally reached unity, favoring Chong Wei, and that BAM will only be sending its younger players.
However, despite the absence of the Malaysian powerhouse in the championship, Chong Wei has reassured the nation that he will be playing in the Thomas Cup finals.
The decision had come to be because the association realized that even if the national squad failed to place itself in the top four of the BATC, Malaysia will still be able to qualify for the other three slots based on world ranking. Currently, Malaysia is placed at no.6 whereas top seeds China and Japan have qualified by merit as they are the respective host and defending champions.
“For the qualifier, it would be better to let the younger players take part in order to gain exposure. They can’t keep relying on me to play in every championship. It was the right decision for BAM to list down the younger players,” said the 33 year-old as quoted from Berita Harian.
“However, I will still be playing in the Thomas Cup finals because we have already qualified based on the ranking. The Thomas Cup will be a preparation for me to play in the Rio Olympics this year.”
“I hope that the younger players selected will make use of this opportunity to prove their strength and ability.”
Meanwhile, coach Hendrawan stated that the combination of junior and senior players will be the much more effective for the Thomas Cup and that younger players should use the championship as a platform to improve.
“I hope that everyone can understand why we listed only the younger players for the qualifier. If we weren’t sure that we will play in the finals, we will not be risking the country’s pride.”
Chong Wei will be taking part in the Malaysia Masters today with India’s RMV Gurusaidutt as his opponent in the opening match.
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