Last night was an emotional night for all Malaysians after we witnessed Dato’ Lee Chong Wei collect his third consecutive Olympic silver medal, after losing to Chen Long 21-18, 21-18 in the final.
The defeat was relatively straightforward and most of us would agree that Chen Long deserved his gold medal triumph. Sadly, last night was probably Chong Wei’s last attempt at winning the coveted gold medal – and he couldn’t pull it off. We’re still proud of him, but he will undoubtedly be frustrated. Three finals, three silver medals.
But fortunately, Chong Wei did manage to leave one stone unturned. His poor record against Lin Dan at the Olympic games, was finally banished on Friday, when he ousted the Chinese legend in a three-set thriller. The symbolism behind that encounter was supposedly ‘revealed’ last night, as an ‘open letter’ from Lin Dan started trending all over the internet.
The ‘letter’ was supposedly written before the final, and talks about the glorious rivalry that’s seen him and Chong both develop as players and people off the court. In fact, this was how it ended: “The 37th time I meet you opposite the net, it’s already gone a whole round since our first. Truthfully, when I slipped and lost to you, I had no regrets. You are my greatest rival, I am willing to lose to you, without regrets. When I hugged you, I really felt as if the past ten years with you, had been but a dream. I will take your jersey to my future child and tell him: ‘There is an uncle known as Lee Chong Wei, your dad’s greatest rival, and also best friend.’ To meet you in my best years is my luck. Good luck in the finals,”
https://twitter.com/ekhwaneffandie/status/767042234558451712
It’s surely seems like a sweet letter, no? There’s only one problem with it though – it’s a hoax.
The ‘letter’ was a fiction produced by Chinese media outlet Sina, who even took on the liberty of producing a ‘response’ from Chong Wei as well. But the article clearly states these ‘letters’ merely represent what they would say to one another, should they opt to write one.
Sorry folks, we love the romantic rivalry that exists between both men and it would have been great if the letter was true. Unfortunately it isn’t, and as much as we hate doing this, the bubble has been burst.
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