New York: Even though the U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold that recently concluded in New York was a Badminton World Federation (BWF) sanctioned “Level 3” tournament (The world badminton tournament structure has four levels: Level 1 ‘BWF Major Events’, Level 2 ‘Superseries Premier and Superseries’, Level 3 ‘Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix Series’, and Level 4 ‘International Challenge, International Series, and Future Series’), fans experienced an electric atmosphere in the men’s singles final as one of the biggest stars in badminton, Lee Chong Wei finally won his first individual title after his 2014 Japan Open triumph.
Despite beating all of his opponents in straight sets to secure the US Open title, Lee admitted the US Open tournament was one of the most riveting, and tense tournaments of his illustrious career.
“US Open was my first individual tournament since the suspension was lifted, the pressure was so great, I just had to stay focused,” said Chong Wei.
“I did make some easy mistakes, I’m just glad that I overcame that,” added Chong Wei.
“It feels good winning again! It was a small victory, but an important one for me, as I must continue to work hard and strive toward improving my world rankings (Lee is currently ranked world No. 180th).”
The badminton superstar has won 11 consecutive straight-set matches since his suspension was lifted at the end of April, including 3 matches at the Sudirman Cup in May, and 2 matches at the SEA Games in June.
Meanwhile, Hendrawan, Lee Chong Wei’s coach also hoped that Lee could continue to stay motivated, and driven.
“Although US Open was only a Grand Prix Gold tournament, but it was an important victory for Chong Wei. Winning at the US Open proved Chong Wei still has such confidence and enthusiasm for playing the sport,” said Hendrawan.
“After a long absence, Chong Wei still has a lot of room for improvement in his game. The good news is, he is determined to gradually getting better and to ‘get the feeling’ back for the game,” added Hendrawan.
