Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei today shared his humble beginnings and how his family could not even afford to buy him a racquet.
Lee said his father had to raise him and his four siblings on a monthly income of RM800 (USD $192), adding that he had to use a racquet owned by his father’s friend when he was training as a child.
“Because my family was poor, it was difficult to even buy a racquet as (we had) no money,” he said in an opinion piece published in local daily Berita Harian.
He recalled getting his first racquet when he joined his first championships dubbed the Piala Milo.
“Although I knew he had no money, but he still made the effort to buy me a Pro Kennex racquet. That was my first racquet which cost RM160,” he said.
Lee said when he turned 13 and could ride a bicycle, he started finding a way to earn money for racquets by working at a nearby sports supply store.
“For one racquet, I was paid RM1 and in one day, I could string 20 to 30 racquets,” he said, adding that he would ask the shop owner to set aside his entire wages for badminton racquets.
However, tragedy struck when his house was broken into and his hard-earned bag of four racquets was stolen.
“I was truly disappointed then. How can I play badminton, if I no longer had racquets? It was not easy for me to buy those racquets,” he said, adding however that his coach gave him two of his own racquets.
“Only God knows how I felt then. I felt as if I was resurrected from the dead because I could still continue my ambition with the coach’s help,” he said.
Lee’s journey, which started with him playing badminton at 10 and enduring hourly bus trips thrice a week to and from his Bukit Mertajam home and the state badminton academy in Jelutong, finally saw him leaving his family in Penang at 17 to join the national badminton academy.
Having never lived away from home and feeling isolated at the national badminton academy as a newcomer, Lee said he cried every day in his early days there.
“Every day I called my mother and described my situation and at one point, I told my mother I wanted to go home. I didn’t want to be a badminton player anymore.
“But my mother said this was my chance to represent the country and not everyone had such an opportunity. So I couldn’t let it go to waste. My mother’s words lifted my spirits again and since then I haven’t looked back,” he said.
He thanked his hostel warden, whom he identified as Mr Howe, for helping him cope with his homesickness and adapt to his new environment.
“With what I had to go through to reach this level, I admit to being satisfied with the results,” said Lee, who is currently ranked the world’s number one badminton player.
But he confessed to being disappointed at failing to secure Malaysia’s first Olympic gold medal despite having qualified for the badminton men’s singles thrice in the Games, namely in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
“I have done my best. Whatever the coach instructed, I have disregarded his instructions. I have to learn to accept this reality. It’s not easy but I accept it,” he said.
–Malay Mail Online
