The Badminton God has Fallen

The hero Lee Chong Wei is expected to bag another Indonesian Open Title but his hopes to win his seventh title were dashed as the Malaysian hero fall short to Prannoy of India.

The All-England champion went down 10-21, 18-21 to 24-year-old H.S. Pranoy of India in a long 40-minute second-round men’s singles match at the Jakarta Convention Centre on Thursday.

With a lot of anticipation for him to succeed and walk away with the title it is the first time this year that Lee Chong Wei, the world No. 3 has failed to clear the early rounds of an Open tournament.

It is also the first time that Lee Chong Wei was defeated by a world No. 29 in three meetings. The National coach Hendrawan said that the 34 –year-old Lee Chong Wei lacked the speed to counter and aggressive Prannoy.

But all is well for the camp of Lee Chong Wei as they humbly accept the defeat. One thing is for sure that they Lee Chong Wei is going back stronger than before. 

Hendrawan said “Credit must be given to Prannoy for putting up a good show. Chong Wei was slower than usual and that gave his opponent the room to take control of the game”.

It is also obvious that the Malaysian hero also had fewer chances to attack. They have accepted the defeat and they are remaining positive ahead of Chong Wei’s preparation for the World Championships that will be help in Glasgow from Aug 21-27.

Lee Chong Wei has won the Indonesian Open six times- the same as former Indonesian greats and legends Ardy Wiranata and Taufik Hidayat.

Lee Chong Wei bagged the Indonesian Open titles in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016 and he is the only non-Indonesian to have won the title more than once.

What are your thoughts? Is it because of the badminton rackets, or the apparels, or the shoes or is he reserving his energy for the big shots?