Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s shocking defeat in the first round of the All England Open Badminton Championships last night was not an issue to be worried about, according to national singles head coach, Hendrawan
The Indonesian still believes in Chong Wei’s ability to learn from his mistakes and bounce back, besides suggesting that the defeat was partially caused by his focus on the Rio Olympics.
“As I said, the opening match is an important fixture but not all players will be able to demonstrate their best performance in curtain-openers.
“Chong Wei is one of those players who could not showcase his full potential in his opening match earlier this morning.
“Sai Praneeth deserved the win as his performance today was top-notch,” he added.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
Focus is the ultimate key, as Chong Wei has always reiterated. But what Hendrawan said, is a little conspicuous. It’s one thing to shift your focus onto one tournament, but it’s unacceptable for that to be used as an excuse for your failures in a separate tournament that happens to be a major one as well. Chong Wei is a world-class badminton player, but he’s got to learn from his mistakes in this round and use to it to strengthen his mental preparation for Rio. First round defeats isn’t something he’ll want to see happen in Rio.
Other posts by Lekshman Subramaniam
