Dubai: For his excellence at the highest level of the sport of badminton, Badminton World Federation (BWF) had announced that World No. 1 men’s singles player Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia was selected as the 2016 Best Male Player of the Year. The awards were unveiled during Monday night’s Players’ Reception and Gala Dinner in Dubai.
Lee who garnered the award for the fifth time (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016), beating out his other fellow nominees including compatriots and Olympics men’s doubles silver medalist pair, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, China’s Olympics men’s singles gold medalist Chen Long and Olympic men’s doubles gold medalist pair Fu Haifeng-Zhang Nan, and Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark.
In the 2016 season, the 34-year-old Lee Chong Wei claimed three Superseries titles – Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan Open. He also won his third Olympics silver medal at Rio in August, while eyeing his fifth World Superseries Finals title in Dubai this week. Lee has been drawn in Group B with South Korea’s Son Wan-ho, Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, and will start his campaign on Wednesday against No. 2 seed Son Wan Ho.
Japan’s women’s doubles Olympic champions Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi took the Best Female Player award, while India’s World No. 10 and Olympic silver medal winner Pusarla V. Sindhu was awarded the Most Improved Player award.
For the Eddy Choong Award or Most Promising Player of the Year, China’s rising star, Chen Qingchen was the undisputed choice to claim that award.
In the para-badminton category, Lucas Mazur (France) and Karin Suter-Erath (Switzerland) were named the Para-Badminton Player of the Year in the men and women categories respectively.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s women’s doubles player Woon Khe Wei looked so gorgeous at the awards ceremony as she landed the best-dressed award in the women’s category while Viktor Axelsen was picked as the best dressed shuttler the men’s category.
The US$ 1,000,000 Dubai World Superseries Finals will be played from Dec 14-18 at Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai.