If you ask me, his retirement plans should be in the coming months instead of years. Earliest should be next year after one of the major tournaments, not until 2020. He promised to defend his AE title. Looking at his match against Prannoy which he should have won on paper, no disrespect to Prannoy, his movement, anticipation, judgement etc, they are no more at a level where he can beat the younger players. The fire wasn't even there. His stay is probably due to contract commitments and politicians (you know who). If it's the former, agreeable but not the latter. It would be very sad if he follows the same path as Taufik, one of my favourites.
http://bwfworldsuperseries.com/news...-in-opening-test-day2-yonex-french-open-2017/ Oh Chong Wei, back at it again
Time to retire. He has enough titles and had enough chances. It‘s only getting worse from now on. I‘m speaking from a fans perspective. If he still enjoys his badminton, sure why not? But it‘s just sad to see this.
If he wants to play for fun he could just play in franchise-based leagues like India's PBL. Why get humiliated at major international events?
for great athletes approaching the end of their playing days the two hardest ?'s to face are: what do you want to do? you've dedicated your life to accomplish great things, so, like, what else can you do?
Hendrawan confirms Lee Chong Wei will rest after French Open, until next year, I believe. He said LCW was "unsure", "mistakes-prone", "not up to mark", "confused" and "easily lose focus". His confidence also has taken a beating.
That loss to Brice Leverdez in 2017 World Championship is probably the nail in the coffin for Lee Chong Wei's confidence. He is like a sheep without a shepherd, lost, broken and confused.
the age barrier made 2017 lcw looks exactly like post-2010 taufik. the only difference is the later began to decline much earlier. im not surprised if 2018 mas open will be his last. already an accomplished athlete, he got nothing to prove anymore. he could follow LHI step to "semi-retire" and enjoy occasional superseries whenever he like to compete
Actually, BAM allowed LCW to be "semi-retired". He already has the legend status and can choose his own tournament/coach to accompany him.
Chong Wei exits French Open in first round Share this story Share Tweet Share Lee Chong Wei lost 14-21, 15-21 to Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto during the first round of French Open. EPA-EFF file pix. By Ferzalfie Fauzi - October 25, 2017 @ 10:53pm KUALA LUMPUR: Falling at the first hurdle continues to haunt national men's No 1, Datuk Lee Chong Wei when he suffered a shock straight sets loss to 23-year-old Kenta Nishimoto in the first round of the French Open. Chong Wei who is also a former World No 1, lost 14-21, 15-21 to the World No 40 player at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin, in Paris. This is the fourth time this year where Chong Wei has been bundled out early in competition after losing to HS Prannoy of India in the second round of the Indonesian and Denmark Opens, and to Frenchman Brice Leverdez in the first round of the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. According to national men's singles coach Hendrawan, Chong Wei’s game was just not up to mark and he seemed unsure in making decisions on court. “The young Japanese player managed to take control of the entire game because of Chong Wei’s weaknesses. "After such disappointments at the Denmark and French Opens, he will rest for a period of time because now he seems to lose focus more often than not and makes unforced errors,” said Hendrawan when contacted. Hendarawan stressed that for the former world’s best player, the situation now is somewhat tense and uncertain because his confidence has taken a beating. “When we return home, we will definitely hold discussions to try and find the best possible solutions,” said the Indonesian born coach. Meanwhile, it was a different story altogether for national men's pair, Goh V Shem-Teo Ee Yi who did not encounter any problems in defeating their opponents from Hong Kong, Or Chin Chung-Tang Chun Man, even though this is their first outing since they were paired up less than a month ago. V Shem-Ee Yi managed to record a 21-10, 21-15 straight sets win and will next face fifth seeds from China, Liu Cheng-Zhang Nan, in the second round. “We played really well consistently. I hope we can continue with our good form in the second round against the formidable Chinese pair. In terms of weaknesses I feel we need to work on our game combination and understanding better,” said V Shem. Also through to the next round is mixed doubles pair, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing who dispatched Thailand’s Nipitphon Phuangphuapet-Jongkolphan Kithitharakul 22-20, 21-13. They will next face French pair, Ronan Labar-Audrey Fontaine in the second round. However, Malaysia’s other mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai were less fortunate after falling to seventh seeded South Koreans, Seo Seung Jae-Kim Ha Na 16-21, 14-21. National women's pair, Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei also tasted defeat when they went down to Japan’s Shiho Tanaka-Koharu Yonemoto, 22-24, 19-21. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DLCW will take some rest as hendrawan stated onced he is back to kl. That is for sure. What is not sure is how he is going to perform in the other upcoming tournament. Hopefully he can regain his focus back and do well. This is indeed worrying time for DLCW fan and particularly here in Msia. Hope DLCW can still perform well. SS
It is a telling: "Hendarawan stressed that for the former world’s best player, the situation now is somewhat tense and uncertain because his confidence has taken a beating." Wow... LCW is doubting his skills. It is a dire situation.
Hey guys chill. Badminton crazy countries fans and their sponsors will still pay top dollars to have their youngsters play against LCW and LD. Both these players are the standard bearers of the game. You will not get any respect if you have not beaten these two guys. It will be up to LCW to retire or not. LD also was beaten by lesser opponents several times and he is still here.
I think he thinking to retire... Even he said last time after lost to French guy in WC, he really have a deep thought about retirement.
