Lee Chong Wei (Simplified Chinese: ) (born October 21, 1982) is a professional

badminton player from Malaysia. He is rumoured to be dating Malaysia's top women's singles
player, Wong Mew Choo.
[edit]
Career
Lee played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, defeating Ng Wei of
Hong Kong in the first round. In the round of 16, Chong was himself defeated by Chen Hong of
China. Lee Chong Wei had not lost to a fellow Malaysian for 3 years,until the recently conceded
Korean Open to Roslin Hashim. In 2005 he bagged his first 5-star event in the Danish Open. He
also successfully defended his Malaysian open and bagged a bronze in the world championships.
Lee Chong Wei held an unbeaten record in all tournaments held inside Malaysian territory for 3
years, from 2004 to 2006. He has won the Malaysia Open for three consecutive years, including
2006 in which, in what is considered one of the greatest comebacks in badminton history, he
fought back from 13-20 down and saved eight gold medal points against the 2006 world
champion Lin Dan, to finally wrap up the match 23-21. In 2005, he beat the Olympic champion
Taufik Hidayat and Lin Dan en route to the title.
He won the gold medal in the team event and the individual event in the 2006 Melbourne
Commonwealth Games. In the individual events Chong Wei fought off his fellow country man
Wong Choong Hann for the gold medal beating him in two straight sets. The Commonwealth
Games was the first event that used the new 21 point scoring system. After winning the gold
medals he returned to Malaysia to win the Asian Badminton Championships title and soon after
that he won the 2005 Malaysian Sportsman Of The Year Award.
In the 2006 World Badminton Championship, he disappointingly lost to Bao Chunlai of China in
the quarterfinal in three tightly contested games despite dominating the first game. He was
leading in the first set but his performance was eventually undone by committing too many
unforced errors. He won the second game easily and both players went toe to toe in the third
game before Lee Chong Wei succumbed to pressure after the score was tied at 18-18. Prior to
losing this match to Bao, their head to head meetings record stood at 8-0 in favour of Lee Chong
Wei. He entered the world championship as the world ranked number one and as the top seeded
player. This loss is seen as a stepback for Lee as he was favoured by many to go all the way to
capture the world title.
This dismal performance was followed by another below-par outing in the 2006 Japan Open
where he lost tamely to Indonesian maestro Taufik Hidayat in straight sets. These recent defeats
ended his brief reign as world number one. However, it seems that his old form has returned after
his victory against Bao Chunlai in the finals of the Djarum Indonesian Open 2007, the irony
being that his defeat against Bao Chunlai in the World Championships in Madrid was what
started his downhill slide.
Lee continued his great form later in Sudirman Cup 2007, defeating all opponents in straight

sets, including world champion, Lin Dan whom he clearly outclassed throughout the game. Lee
was also clearly controlling the final match against Chen Hong in Philippines Open 2007.
Unfortunately, homeground pressure got to him in the 2007 World Championships in Kuala
Lumpur, and Lee exited the tournament after losing to Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the last 16. Lee was
quick to make amends, and barely a month later continued his good run of form by upsetting Lin
Dan on-route to win the 2007 Japan Open.
Later, he defeated Chunlai once again to lift the French Open title, having lost to the same
opponent the previous week in the Denmark Super Series semifinal. Another confrontation with
Bao Chunlai in the China Open Super Series final in Guangzhou was marred by questionable
line calls and umpire judgement against the Malaysian. But Lee was gracious enough to continue
playing, though he eventually lost the match in straight games.
He is currently coached by Misbun Sidek.
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Style and Attributes
Lee Chong Wei's most well known attribute is his signature forehand cross court smashes and
incredible defensive ability. His cross court shots are accomplished by using a heavy angle on his
racquet head, and he plays incredible inside slices. He frequently retrieves attacking shots by
diving towards the shot with an outstretched racket, then quickly recovering to his feet in time to
continue the rally. Not only does he dive to keep a rally going, he also sometimes plays winners
when he dives. Even Lin Dan has suffered Lee's defense on countless occasions.
Lee is also known for his smooth and efficient footwork that makes him one of the fastest singles
player in the circuit. His strength in the third set (attributed to incredible fitness) and his all
around deceptive and accurate strokes are also well known. In terms of his weaknesses he will
sometimes make too many errors at inopportune times, get trapped at the back corners of the
court, and sometimes has difficulty finishing off rallies once he has gained an advantage, though
he is constantly developing this part of his game.