The World Awaits ... As Chong Wei’s 2020 Olympics Question Will Be Answered This Year - This year’s badminton World Championships could hold the answer to the often-asked question: Will Lee Chong Wei continue playing until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?
Win it, and he is likely to play on, says his coach Hendrawan.
“Chong Wei has been asked many times if he plans to play until 2020 ... even he’s not sure,” said the Indonesian.
“But I’ve told him not to think beyond this year and to focus solely on the World Championships (in Glasgow, Scotland in August).
“If he can become world champion this year, it should clear all his doubts.”
Hendrawan admitted that Chong Wei had been plagued by self-doubt since the shuttler decided to continue playing after winning his third straight silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics last August.
Chong Wei began his post-Olympic campaign in style by capturing his 44th Superseries crown at the Japan Open last October.
Then came the setbacks.
First, he suffered a shock quarter-final loss to France’s Brice Leverdez in the Denmark Open late in October, which saw him withdraw from the French Open the following week.
Then, after gaining late entry into the BWF Superseries Finals in Dubai, he failed to get past the group stage.
“After Dubai, Chong Wei came to see me and we had a heart-to-heart talk,” Hendrawan revealed.
“He said that he was exhausted. He even asked me ‘coach, how old were you when you retired and why did you retire?’
“I told him that I retired because I was injury-prone and no longer motivated.
“But that’s not the case with Chong Wei ... he’s still fit and, most importantly, has a lot of fire in him.
“He aims to win his first world title (in Glasgow this August) and I told him that it’s not impossible ... not as long as he keeps himself motivated.
“I also assured him that I would back him all the way.”
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