A back injury derailed Lee Chong Wei's goal of winning two major events last year but he is not going to allow it to hamper his progress in the World Championships in London on Aug 8-14.
National singles coach Tey Seu Bock said Chong Wei has continued training despite the recurrence of the back injury as it is not serious this time and that the World No 1 is determined to break the jinx in London.
Seu Bock said none of the top players have been experiencing a purple patch except for Chong Wei and despite concerns raised by the injury, the latter is not going to concede defeat this time.
Chong Wei suffered the injury during the World Championships in Paris and was ousted by Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the quarter-finals. He did better in the Asian Games despite carrying on with the same injury two months later but was outplayed by Lin Dan of China.
"Chong Wei has been nearing his peak and will not be too bothered about the problem this time. He has remained positive and we will go to London with a winning mentality to overcome the odds," said Seu Bock.
"While almost all the top shuttlers have been struggling this year, Chong Wei has been consistent so far. His fitness is not affected but we will remain cautious.
"Chong Wei may lose a bit of an advantage but he will make up with a positive approach.
"I'm not saying he is 100 per cent certain of winning but we can expect him to put up his best performance in the World Championships."
Chong Wei has raised the bar to a level this year that anything less than an appearance in the final in London will be deemed a failure.
Despite the injury, the Malaysian is still the favourite to meet Lin Dan in the final at Wembley Arena and not even his bad back is expected to diminish that possibility this time.
Courtesy of New Straits Times
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