Kuala Lumpur: Chan Peng Soon lost his final competitive badminton match after he and Cheah Yee See were beaten by Chen Xing/Li Qian of China 10-21, 6-21 in the first round of the 2024 Malaysia Masters.
The 36-year-old Chan officially ended his 18-year career as a player on Wednesday.
Chan Peng Soon’s best achievement was winning the silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with Goh Liu Ying.
Goh Liu Ying had previously ‘hung up her racket’ after the end of the Malaysia Open last year.
After the match, Chan Peng Soon admitted that he initially had uncertainties about his future as a badminton player.
He recalled being selected to join the national backup squad in 2006 when he was 18 years old.
“At that time, I had to go through a six-month trial period, during which there was no salary, only accommodation and meals provided.”
“During that period, I questioned myself whether this sport had a future for me or not.”
“However, I must say that I have no regrets choosing badminton as my career. Badminton is not just about results or my source of income, but it has also opened my eyes to the outside world.”
“When I traveled abroad, I got to meet many people and learn a lot of things, including the culture of other countries,” said Chan.
Chan Peng Soon said that winning the silver in Rio was the most significant moment in his career.
He mentioned that following that success, people started paying more attention to the mixed doubles event.
“In Malaysia, people didn’t pay much attention to the mixed doubles event, but after the success in Rio, there was a bit more attention, although still less compared to other events.
“I hope everyone can give equal attention to the mixed doubles event because if we win gold, it also contributes to the country’s success,” added Chan.
Chan also posted the following message on his Facebook after Wednesday’s match:
“太多的感触想说，但是说不出来
太多的情感想表达，但是表达不出来
太多的人想感谢，感谢不完。
如果你问我运动员生涯里你问我快乐吗？
我会说：快乐，但是同时也辛苦。
如果你再问我会后悔当运动员吗？
我会说：我没有后悔…
感谢这一些年我有困难的时候拉我一把的贵人们🙏🏻
真心感谢你们🥺
#陈炳顺球员职业结束🔚
#陈炳顺教练生涯开始啦
Thanks everyone 🇲🇾
If you ask me if my career as an athlete is happy?
I will say: happy, but also hard.
If you ask me again if I regret being an athlete?
I will say: that I don‘t regret it…
Thank you for helping me when I was in trouble in the past few years🙏🏻
Thank you so much🥺
#chanpengsoon”
Meanwhile, Cheah Yee See also announced her retirement today.
She said that one of the significant moments in her career was when she and her partner, Hoo Pang Ron, contributed points to the Malaysian team’s victory by defeating Indonesia 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland.
