Chong Wei's defeat to the rising China player in the Japan Open took place three weeks after the World Championships leaving him only about 10 days to prepare.
Chen Long is just 22 while Chong Wei is 29 and despite the latter's superior skills and experience, he will have to admit that he struggles against younger opponents.
Chen Long is physically stronger and has also learnt well from compatriot Lin Dan on how to neutralise Chong Wei and thorough preparation is needed if he is to sink China's top players.
It didn't help that the BA of Malaysia (BAM) staged the National Grand Prix Finals on Oct 12-15 where Chong Wei secured a 10th national title but had to leave for Denmark that very night. He played his first match on Oct 19.
It is arguable that the field in the local event is too weak and Chong Wei had a stroll but he was also going through his training while the rest just competed in the GP Finals.
BAM's decision to stage the Kedah Open just 10 days before Chong Wei and the other national shuttlers travelled to Bath, England for a one-week training stint before the World Championships in London also left a lot to be desired.
Chong Wei aggravated his back injury in Kedah and only resumed training two weeks later and, not surprisingly, he fell short in the World Championships final against Lin Dan.
National singles coach Tey Seu Bock had said that Chong Wei wasn't comfortable playing Chen Long who outplays his opponents through sheer physical strength rather than skill.
"Chong Wei is not comfortable playing Chen Long because he is physically very tough and a good retriever. His recovery is very good and manages to battle with Chong Wei rally after rally," said Seu Bock in a telephone interview from Odense yesterday.
"The best way to beat him (Chen Long) is to be well prepared and I would say he (Chong Wei) did not have much time after the Japan Open.
"The situation now is juggling between Olympic qualification and quality training. At the moment, he needs to collect Olympic points and at the end of the year, we have to put him through a longer period of quality training."
The coach added: "Chong Wei is an excellent shuttler but sometimes we forget that he is already 29 and it might take longer to recover from tough matches compared to players like Chen Long.
"Chen Long had a tough second round but received a walkover from Jan Jorgensen (of Denmark) and this was followed by an easy semi-final win, so he was fresh in the final."
Chong Wei will probably get about four weeks to prepare for the Korea Open (Jan 3-8) and Malaysia Open (Jan 10-15) and about six weeks before the All England in March. The break will be important for his build-up towards the Olympics.
Chong Wei should limit his tournaments after the All England and spend sufficient time on his Olympics preparation.
There will be another opportunity for Chong Wei to avenge his defeat in the French Open where he is likely to play Chen Long in the last four in Paris on Saturday but the Malaysian must be prepared if his young rival has the upper hand again.
It is better to lose the battle but win the war against China in the London Olympics next year.
As for men's doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, only time will tell if they can be transformed into a formidable pair again by new coach Pang Cheh Chang.
The onus, however, will be on Kien Keat-Boon Heong who must play with confidence and work harder to regain their form.
Courtesy of New Straits Times
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