Just when things were starting to get better for Lee Chong Wei, his hopes and dreams were shattered once more as the badminton ace was shown the exit in the second round of the Indian Open Super Series yesterday.
Chong Wei endured was handed a major blow few weeks ago when he was ousted in the first round of the All England Championship by India’s B Sai Praneeth. This time, the top seed suffered another shocking defeat against Hong Kong’s Wei Nan as he was downed in two straight sets 19-21, 19-21 in just 42 minutes at the Siri Fort Sports Complex last night.
In fact, Chong Wei was not the only top player to get a shock treatment as his rival Lin Dan took did not make the cut and was sent packing after an intense match against South Korea’s Son Wanho. The six-time All England champion was stunned 13-21 and 20-22.
WHAT DO WE THINK
This defeat will only continue to raise doubts on Chong Wei’s ability to clinch a gold medal in August. While he did have a period of renaissance towards the end of last year, the former world number one has been in poor form over the last two months. His early exit at the All England did enough damage to his credibility and this defeat will further exascebate that. Lin Dan lost too, but he’s got nothing to lose at this point. He’s won the Olympic gold before and we’ve seen him bounce back from poor performances in an instant. Chong Wei on the other hand, has got everything at stake. This is undoubtedly his final shot at winning the Olympic gold and judging by his recent form, it doesn’t look too good.
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