Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei announces his retirement from the sport after 19 years on the international badminton circuit. 19 years of breaking records. 3965 days of winning hearts. A lifetime of bringing us together.
Thank You Dato Lee Chong Wei !!!
Below is Lee Chong Wei’s open letter to his fans..
ENGLISH
To all my family friends and fans. To everyone of you who have been a part of my life, thank you. A real big sincere thank you.
Months ago, all of you knew I had cancer. I fought it. And I thought I fought it well. I thought I could try one more time.
I am just someone who love to play badminton. Someone who love my country. I feared of retiring with regrets. I was scared of not delivering that elusive Olympic gold for Malaysia. So when I was cleared of cancer, I took up my racquet and trained once again.
Lee Chong Wei makes emotional announcement to retire
After few days of light training, I wanted to get clearanyce from my doctor to heighten my training intensity, then i was dealt a major blow. From that scan, doctor shook his head and said i might face the risk of recurrence if I continue to train. Mew Choo crumbled crying. She feared i might be stubborn and continue to pursue my dream.
I was at loss. I thought “How am I supposed to hang up my racket after nearly twenty years of competitive badminton?, “ How about my Olympic dreams?”
At home, i kept myself occupied with my two sons, Kingston and Terrence. I bathed them, I fed them, I taught them badminton. I spent time with them. Most importantly, I really watched them grew up.
Then it struck me to finally make up my mind. I shouldn’t be so selfish. I have played for myself, I have played for my country. This time, I want to play the role of a father, for long long time. I want to see them grow up to be proper men, to get married, to have kids. I want to take care of my wife when she is old too.
So Yes, I have made my decision to quit. I’m sorry that I couldn’t make it to Tokyo this time around. And I’m sorry I didn’t deliver an Olympic gold. But I know I’ve no regrets as I’ve tried my best. My very best.
I hope my name Lee Chong Wei has inspired you all one way or another, same like the way you guys inspired me. Without my family, my teammates, my coaches, and my supporters, I won’t achieve anything.
To my fellow badminton players like the Lin Dans, the Taufiks, the Peter Gades, and Hyun ills. Yup, my time is up. Thank you for the great battles we had. As amazing as it is, i think our era should be coming to an end now. Momota, Victor, Yuqi and Zi Jia, do hold the fort well. Make the world realise badminton is the best sport on earth.
To fellow Malaysian shuttlers, don’t give up the dream. Please remember there are actually thousands of Malaysians praying for your success. Train harder everyday. Always beat yesterday’s training records. Also, a sportsman life is short. Don’t end with regrets. There is actually a young 5 years old Ali, Muthu or Ah Meng idolising you, making you their Malaysian superhero. Don’t disappoint them. Play for the flag, play for Negaraku.
I had no regrets. When i started playing badminton, all I wanted to do is to represent Malaysia. And I believed I did it with pride and honour.
Well. I’m done. Thank you very much to all of you. Lee Chong Wei signing out.
******
MALAY
Rakan sekalian, Selamat Hari Raya dan Salam sejahtera. Saya ingin meminta maaf Sebab saya sudah tidak mampu lagi bermain badminton untuk negara dan anda semua.
Doktor menasihatkan saya bahawa risiko kanser kembali agak tinggi sekiranya saya berlatih dengan intensiti seperti dulu.
Ya, Tokyo 2020 tidak kesampaian. Tetapi, saya rasa saya akan meninggalkan arena Badminton tanpa kekesalan. Dari kecil, impian saya memang nak mewakili nkegara ini. Dan rasanya, saya dah berjaya.
Perasaan berdiri di podium, melihat bendera dinaikkan dan mendengar lagu Negaraku sememangnya akan dirindui.
Jangan risau sangat atas pengunduran Diri Saya Kerana kita mempunyai Barisan pelapis Yang kuat. Saya yakin dia orang boleh!
Terima kasih kawan kawan. Minta maaf atas mana mana Yang tak sempurna dalAm karier sukan saya. Dah tiba masa untuk kuda tua ini berehat. Terima kasih.
******
CHINESE
大家好，我是李宗伟，几经挣扎我最终选择了挂拍，为我近20年在马来西亚国家队的羽毛球职业生涯，画上句点。
很抱歉让球迷们失望了，如果情况允许，我也想第五次站在奥运的赛场上，实现奥运金牌梦，如果身体可以我也想承载着国人的寄望，披着国旗继续前进，如果可以… 但，人生没有如果。
放下球拍这不是容易的决定，心里头满满的不舍，但决定了就好了。感谢教练、队友、羽总全体员工、物理治疗师、所有喜欢我的爱我的支持我的、看过我打球的、曾给我留言的朋友，谢谢你们，这一路上因为有你们，我才能是我。
很多朋友问我之后什么打算？除了好好休息，还有好多事情等着我去做，其中包括实现承诺，带我的老婆去度蜜月，结婚到现在讲到现在，终于有时间可以去做了，哈，有什么好地方推荐吗？
各位朋友，这一站我就先下车了，希望带着你们的祝福，继续前往下一段更精彩的人生路。
Tribute to the legend Lee Chong Wei
What makes Lee Chong Wei Legend – Skill Compilation
About Datuk Lee Chong Wei
Datuk Lee Chong Wei DB PJN AMN DCSM DSPN (born 21 October 1982) is a retired Malaysian professional badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fourth Malaysian player after Rashid Sidek, Roslin Hashim and Wong Choong Hann to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the number one ranking for more than a year.
Lee is a triple silver medalist at the Olympic Games, and the sixth Malaysian to win an Olympic medal. He won his first silver medal in 2008, also the first time a Malaysian had reached the finals in the men’s singles event. This achievement earned him the title Datuk, and led to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak describing him as a national hero. He repeated the achievement twice more in 2012 and 2016, thus making him the most successful Malaysian Olympian in history.
On 13 June 2019, Lee announced his retirement after struggling to return to the fitness following a nose cancer diagnosis
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