The announcement by Datuk Lee Chong Wei to continue playing until 2016 will be greeted with huge sighs of relief not only by badminton fans in Malaysia but in the whole world, too. At the moment, the badminton world is bracing with the prospect of not having a true superstar once the World No. 1 calls his day. With Lin Dan also being very unlikely to be active in world badminton circuit, losing Datuk Lee will be such a huge blow for the world badminton community. Twice already this year, he dismantled World No. 2, Cheng Hong in lop-sided two set matches showing clearly the disparity in terms of quality between him and Lin Dan with the rest of the world badminton players. If both decide to hang up their rackets by the end of this year, who will the badminton world turn to?
I can't recall a day when, badminton world was without superstars. Players come and go but there is always one or two genius to step in their shoes and enthrall us with their skills. We have seen Lim Swee King, Yang Yang, Zhao Jianhua, Morten Frost Hansen, Heryanto Arbi, Xia Xuanze, Paul Eric Hoyer Larsen plus many more. There never seem to be a shortage of talent at any time. But this time is a bit different.
All those names mentioned above retired after they been dethroned by the younger generation. As age caught up with them, they can no longer compete against the speed and the strength of the youth. However, Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan haven't been troubled by the younger players yet. The worrying fact is they are closing to the wrong side of 30's and have won everything to be won in the world badminton. You can call it longevity and perhaps modern science helps them to stay competitive for a longer period of time. But surely by now, there should be someone who can pose a real threat to them. Come on, it's only April and Datuk Lee has already won three titles including the prestigious All England 2014. Not that I'm unhappy with his achievement. But, if you are a true badminton fan, you must be wondering how the badminton world will fare after Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan?
The only player who seems to come close to Lee-Lin’s standard is probably Chen Hong. But he is too inconsistent to be the heir apparent to the throne. On his day, he can beat Datuk Lee (when Datuk Lee's not 100% fit, of course) but on the very next day, he can get beaten by a low ranking player. You don't see that happenning to Lin and Lee, right? Plus, his defensive playing style makes him less attractive and unsuited for superstar status. People love to see jumping smash, crafty wrist work and sweet baseline drop. You don't see too many of that in Cheng Hong. His game is all about retrieving the shoot and making the opponent tired and do a lot of mistakes.
Further below the ranking order, there are Kenichi Tago, Tommy Sugiarto, Boonsak Ponsana, Du Pengyu, Son Wan-ho, Nguyen Tien Minh and Kento Momota. None of them has the ‘aura’ to force people like me to come to the stadium to watch them play. In fact, I don't even bother to see them in TV, unless of course they are playing against Datuk Lee Chong Wei or Lin Dan.
The worst part is, although the whole world is facing a shortage of badminton talents, our country can't even produce another top 10 player alongside Datuk Lee, let alone producing another Datuk Lee. Talks are BAM is working to produce top players by 2020? WHAT? Why 2020? Why not now? Why not 2016 when Chong Wei retires? What has happened to our Asian and World junior champions? No idea how to improve them?
Well, I leave that last part to BAM and the Ministry of Sports. My wish is Datuk Lee will stay healthy and fit and continue to amaze us until 2016. I hope Lin Dan will continue playing as well. The badminton world won't be the same without them, at least for now. Until, their successor/s can be identified, please continue playing, Datuk Lee. I hope you'll win your World title this year.
Pic credit: www.badmintonfreak.com
- Brader Sports
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