Playing 2016 Olympic Games depends on physical fitness, says badminton star Lee Chong Wei
Malaysia’s badminton star Lee Chong Wei said that participating in the 2016 Olympic Games heavily depends on his fitness and he will see if he could be able to continue playing after 2014 Asian and Commonwealth Games if he remains injury free.
The World Number Two Chong Wei, who has won the second consecutive silver medal in Olympic Games, has been awarded with a lucrative sum of RM500,000 for his impressive performance despite recovering from an ankle injury.
The National Sports Council awarded him with RM300,000 and the government of Malaysia also rewarded him with RM200,000 for his unparallel services.
The prize money was presented to Chong Wei by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
The 29-year-old Chong Wei, who will celebrate his 30th birth in less than two months’ period, intends to play the 2014 Asian Games which will be held in Korea and the 2014 Commonwealth Games which will take place in Glasgow.
After these two tournaments, Chong Wei will assess his physical condition before deciding to keep on going until the next edition of Olympic Games which will take place in Brazil.
After receiving the prize money, he thanked to the Prime Minister and his wife and also said that he will continue playing competitive badminton if his condition allows.
He stated, “I am grateful to the Prime Minister and his wife for the reward today, I will be saving the money. Even though I did not bring back a gold medal, the government still supports me. Nonetheless I have done my best.”
He further added, “However, I will look at my performance in two years, that is after the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, both in 2014. If my fitness permits, I will continue till the 2016 Olympics.”
Chong Wei lost the Olympic final to China’s World Number One player Lin Dan which was a repeat match to the 2008 Beijing Olympics where the same shuttlers made it to the finals and the final result was also the same.
However, despite losing the final, Chong Wei still received a warm welcome by the Malaysian government and also by the countless fans for his courageous performance at the London Olympics.
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