Datuk Lee Chong Wei shocked the badminton world when he lost to the hands of India’s B. Sai Praneeth in the first round of the All England Championship in Birmingham yesterday.
“I cannot believe that I lost in the first round. I prepared myself for quite some time and I recently just won four championships,” the three-time All England winner said.
“I guess I put a lot of pressure on myself to win this championship. I made many mistakes. To be honest, I was surprised with the great game shown by Sai Praneeth.
“However, this is a learning curve. I am devastated to lose in a tournament of this calibre. Now, my target is to win the Olympics in Rio,” he said as quoted by Berita Harian.
Lee Chong Wei lost 22-24, 20-22 to the 36th-ranked player in the world.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
The 33 year-old was Malaysia’s biggest hope for the All England Championships this year. He trained for months and was selected first to lead the nation in Birmingham in March. However, he was beaten in straight sets to a player ranked 34 times below him, and the world is in utter disbelief. Our national hero, who was supposed to win his fourth All England title, bowed out and packed his bags as he will return home after losing in the first round. What is next for the World No. 2? He is targeting a good performance at the Olympic Games in Brazil and only winning a medal will redeem himself from his failure last night.
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