Lee Chong Wei: 'My life has been a roller-coaster'

Lee Chong Wei, who is eyeing a hat-trick of titles at the Denmark Open, said the thought of retirement has crossed his mind many times but he has "somehow managed to continue."

Published : Oct 19, 2017 14:04 IST , Odense

In his 18th year with the national team, Lee Chong Wei, even if not dominating the game as he used to, is still going strong.
In his 18th year with the national team, Lee Chong Wei, even if not dominating the game as he used to, is still going strong.
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In his 18th year with the national team, Lee Chong Wei, even if not dominating the game as he used to, is still going strong.

He will turn 35 on Saturday but former world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei still remains Malaysia's best player. He hopes that his long-time coach Misbun Sidek soon finds someone to replace him.

In his 18th year with the national team, Lee, even if not dominating the game as he used to, is still going strong. He has suffered defeats against younger opponents, including India’s H. S. Prannoy and France’s Brice Leverdez.

Lee, who is eyeing a hat-trick of titles at the Denmark Open, said the thought of retirement has crossed his mind many times but he has "somehow managed to continue."

“After losing in Olympic Games, I went back and thought to stop playing but then somebody encourage me, tell me that I can still play and I have continued,” Lee told PTI .

“I think my life has become a roller-coaster, where I am going down and up, and down and up. Still that I can play in the national team is not easy for me."

“Now I am still in the top 10 but the second singles player is somewhere around 40 something, so I hope our coach Misbun can get someone to replace me.”

“I don’t know how long I can play. I just look at match to match, year to year and hope to enjoy my life and my badminton career before retiring,” he said.

Talking to reporters about his opening round triumph against Spain’s Pablo Abian, he said: “It was little bit easy, I took time to get used to the court and once I got going, I was able to win.

“I don’t want to think about the results. It is just one match at a time. Next I am playing Prannoy, I have lost to him before, so I know it is not going to be easy.”

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