All England: Heartbreak for Chong Wei

HOURS before the men’s singles final Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei was already feeling the pain on his shoulder.
But he did not want to disappoint his adoring fans at the sell-out National Indoor Arena and went on to the court and gave his all but it did not work against a ruthless Lin Dan.
And eventually, after 31 minutes of play the World No. 1 surrendered his dream of winning the All-England title for the third time in a row by retiring at 2-6 in the second game. He narrowly lost the first at 19-21.
Hundreds of Malaysia fans cheered him on despite the anti-climax ending – well aware that the Malaysian was simply unable to play on.
With his defeat he also missed becoming only the second Malaysian to pull off the feat after the late Wong Peng Soon from 1950-1952.

Chong Wei sought treatment halfway through the match for a shoulder injury.

A dejected Chong Wei said: “This is an injury I picked up on Friday. I managed to survive against Lee Hyun-il (in the semi-finals) but could not do the same against Lin Dan today. I was playing half court. I could not smash or make a full swing,” said Chong Wei.
“I knew much earlier that it would be tough but I did not want to disappoint the fans. I took the risk of playing but I could not do much with Lin Dan in top form,” he said.
Indeed, Lin Dan was doing all the attacking yesterday and dictated the pace in the opening game.
Chong Wei kept close but it was obvious that Lin Dan was more superior on court as he set up well calculated moves to slam down the winners and showed his hunger for the title.
The Malaysian, who hardly won any points with his usual stinging smashes yesterday, stopped play at 12-15 in the first game to get treatment for his shoulder and did his best to narrow the gap but Lin Dan closed it at 21-19.

For Lin Dan, it was his fifth All-England title in his ninth final.

During the break, Chong Wei re­ceived more treatment and bravely went back on the court but after trailing 2-6, he had to give up.
“I am disappointed that I could not win it for the third time. I did come down today hoping that I could pull off some tricks against Lin Dan but his chop and net play was just awesome.
“It is unfortunate that the injury came at this time but it is better that I stop playing as it may aggravate the injury. I do not want to jeopardise my chances for the Olympic Games.”
Chong Wei withdrew from the Swiss Open which starts on Wed­nes­day and will fly back home today.
For Lin Dan, it was his fifth All-England title in his ninth final. Although disappointed with the manner he won, Lin Dan was sympathetic over Chong Wei’s withdrawal.

Champions: South Koreans Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae (left) lifting their trophies after beating China’s Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng in the men’s doubles final at the All England in Birmingham yesterday. — Reuters

“He did give a good fight in the first game despite his condition. I know that this injury is not serious and I am looking forward to meeting him again at the Olympic Games,” he said.
Stocky Jung Jae-sung made a sensational comeback from his shoulder injury to form a superb partnership with Lee Yong-dae and powered their way to their second All-England title.
Yesterday, the athletic duo smashed aside four-time world champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China 21-23, 21-9, 21-14 in a thrilling men’s doubles final.
RESULTS
Men’s singles: Lin Dan (Chn) bt Lee Chong Wei (Mas) 21-19, 6-2 (retired)
Men’s doubles: Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae (Kor) bt Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng (Chn) 21-23, 21-9, 21-14.
Women’s singles: Li Xuerui (Chn) bt Wang Yihan (Chn) 21-13, 21-19.
Women’s doubles: Tian Qing-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) bt Wang Xiaoli-Yu Yang (Chn) 21-17, 21-12.
Mixed doubles: Tantowi Ahmad-Lilyana Natsir (Ina) bt Thomas Laybourn-Kamilla Rytter Juhl (Den) 21-17, 21-19.
Courtesy of The Star