Lee Chong Wei wants back-up shuttlers to compete and gain experience at Thomas Cup Preliminary Round
Malaysia’s top player Lee Chong Wei, who helped his team to qualify for Thomas Cup Finals, now wants back-up shuttlers to compete and gain experience in the remaining matches of Thomas Cup Preliminary Round.
Chong Wei, who is ruling World Number One in Men’s Singles world rankings, lived up to the expectations and won all of his matches and helped Malaysia to win a much needed spot in the Thomas Cup Finals.
Now, Chong Wei wants the coaches to field the back-up players in the upcoming Preliminary Round matches which will help these young shuttlers to get experience and prove their worth against the top players in the world.
Chong Wei said that Daren and Arif should participate in the remaining Preliminary Round matches that will give them exposure and they will be in a better position to serve Malaysia in near future.
He said, "We have to give our young players a chance to play and gain experience. They are the ones who are going to lead the team when I retire and this is a good time to hand them that responsibility. I have asked the coaches to exclude me from the remaining matches so that Daren and Arif can gain experience.”
The World Number One plans to utilise the upcoming days in training for the All England Open Premier Super Series, which is a prestigious event in the arena of badminton.
He further added, "I can use the remaining days to continue with my preparations for the All England. Maybe Koo and Tan also can get a break and let the youngsters get some good experience."
The absence of Chong Wei in the upcoming matches in the Preliminary Round will provide a wonderful chance to the young players including Daren Liew and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif to prove their mettle.
Malaysia is on safe grounds as it has already secured a berth in Thomas Cup Finals. Malaysian shuttlers can play freely against Japan in the semi-final stage without taking any pressure of losing the match.
Now, Chong Wei is targeting to defend his title in All England Open, starting from March 6, and will remain stick to his training.
Tags: