Keep it up, says Chong Wei

WORLD No. 1 Lee Chong Wei had some positive words for his successors – Chong Wei Feng and Liew Daren, who both bowed out from the World Championships on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Wei Feng had China’s Lin Dan by the throat in the opening game before going on to lose 20-22, 10-21 in the third round while Daren went down 18-21, 15-21 to second seeds Chen Long, also of China.

“Wei Feng did quite well against Lin Dan but could not catch up towards the end. This is his first world meet ... although he’s not that young, he has been playing better and better,” said Chong Wei.

“Wei Feng and Daren have been sparring with me and we play quite a lot of matches. It is my hope that they will learn as much as possible from me and go on to achieve good results. I believe they can.”

In the men’s doubles, Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong, who are also seen as successors to Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, failed to progress after going down fighting 13-21, 20-22 to four-time world champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China.

Independent shuttlers Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif also could not keep their momentum going, falling 21-21, 7-21 to Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan.