Lee Chong Wei among favourites to win the 2010 ‘Sportsman of the Year’ award
The World Number One badminton player, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, is one of the favourites for the 2010 ‘Sportsman of the Year’ award, which will be given to that player who has won most international events in 2010. The announcement
of the winner of the award will be made in a ceremony which will be held on March 15, 2011.
A close competition is there among top players who have brought glory to their country in their respective games. Together with Chong Wei, the other nominees for the award are the world number one squash player Nicol David, top cyclist
Azizul Hasni, diver Pandelela Rinong and body builder, Sazali Samad.
Chong Wei is the most favourite for the award as he has won more international events than any other player in 2010. In the start of the year, the Malaysian won the coveted All England Super Series 2010. He then grabbed the title of
Indonesia Open Super Series 2010.
The World Number One shuttler continued his winning streak and won the title in the Japan Open Super Series 2010. He finished 2010 with a tremendous performance in the Hong Kong Open Super Series 2010, where he clinched the Men’s Singles
title. Currently, Chong Wei is at number one spot in the ranking of Badminton World Federation.
Cyclist, Azizul, is another player in the row for the award. He raised the Malaysian flag at Guangzhou by winning a gold medal in cycling at the 2010 Asian Games. He is also a top seed in cycling in Malaysia. Another nominee for the
National award is Sazali, who proved his worth in body building and clinched the title in the Asian Body Building Championships.
Other male players in the nominations are Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim for weight lifting and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, who served his country in the game of football.
The 27-year old female Squash player, Nicole David, who is currently world number one, also has high chances to win the National award in the category of the best female ‘Player of the Year’, as she was unbeaten throughout the year.
She won many international tournaments in 2010 including the Chennai Open, the Kuala Lumpur Open, Cayman Islands Open, the Malaysian Open, the Singapore Masters, the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open, World Open, the Torneo International
Bicentenario Mexico and the Qatar Classic Open.
Other nominees for the award in the category of females are diver Pandelela Rinong, Chai Fong Yin for Wushu, Nur Suryani Mohamed for shooting and Elaine Koon for serving the nation in the game of gymnastics. The Secretary General of
Sports, Mr. Mohid Mohamed revealed that the players for the award are selected on the basis of their performance in the major events at international level.
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