Chong Wei tips five singles shuttlers to be top stars

GEORGE TOWN: Lee Chong Wei has named five singles shuttlers who have the potential to be top players. They are Chan Kwong Beng, Liew Daren, Chong Wei Feng, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and Misbun Ramdan.

The world No. 2 singles star, however, conceded that the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) face a tough task in finding his successor.

“Even China have difficulty trying to find a ‘second’ Lin Dan despite having a population of more than one billion while Malaysia only have a population of 28 million,” Chong Wei told a press conference before a meet-the-fans session at KDU College in Penang yesterday.

“Indonesia and Denmark also find it hard to replace Taufik Hidayat and Peter-Gade Christensen.”
Chong Wei was asked to comment on a report in a Malay daily on Sunday which stated that a replacement for him has yet to be found. He said more junior players would be sent to overseas tournaments to acquire experience.

Chong Wei also said he hoped to attend Lin Dan’s wedding in China next month but was not sure if he would be able to make it as he will be competing in the Japan Open in Tokyo from Sept 18-23.
“I’m hoping for an early final so I can fly from Tokyo to Beijing,” he said.

- THE STAR

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