Heartbreak for Lee Chong Wei’s Olympic Swansong
Rio de Janeiro, 18 Dzulqa’dah 1437/21 August 2016 (MINA) – Lee Chong Wei’s final bid for an Olympic gold medal in his career ended when he lost to China’s Chen Long in the men’s singles final at the Pavilion 4, Riocentro, here, on Saturday.
Chong Wei lost 21-18, 21-18 to the Chinese world number two in the 76-minute match, thus ending Malaysia’s dream for a first gold medal in the country’s Olympic history.
The 33-year-old world number one demolished his nemesis Lin Dan of China in yesterday’s semifinal but once again another Chinese shuttler denied him the gold medal in his third Olympic final, malaysiagazette.com reported.
Chong Wei ended his Olympic career with three silvers in a row and the first gold medal for Chen Long, after Lin Dan’s two in the back-to-back Olympics in 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games.
The glorious moment the Malaysians had waited to see the national icon bring home the gold ended when Chong Wei lost the opening set 21-18 in 38 minutes.
In a closely fought match, the second set ended with a similar score as Chong Wei failed to break through the Great Wall of China for the third Olympic finals.
Chong Wei and Chen Long have clashed 26 times in seven years. Chong Wei has won 13 times – just two more than the world No. 2.
Chen Long broke Chong Wei’s heart when he denied the Malaysian the world title at the 2014 edition in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Before the final showdown here, Chong Wei and Chen Long had met four times over the last one year.
Chong Wei came out tops in all four – at the 2015 China Open, 2015 Hong Kong Open, 2016 Malaysian Open and the 2016 Asian Badminton Championships.
“I tried my best…..and it wasn’t the day I was looking for to end the Olympics,” said the teary-eyed Chong Wei.
He apologised to all Malaysians for not delivering the much awaited gold medal in Olympics.
“I regret for the loss….I played my best but Chen Long played better today,” he said.
Chong Wei said that he was not nervous in the final but regretted not meeting Lin Dan in the final as both players were bidding farewell after their fourth Olympics appearance. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)