SHAH ALAM: It’s not everyday that you get to play in the presence of a legend.
For the Johor men’s badminton team, having former world No. 1 Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei in the stands was enough to spur them to thrash Sarawak 5-0 in their final Malaysia Games (Sukma) Group B match yesterday.
Chong Wei was at the Setia City Convention Centre doing his rounds as sports ambassador for the southern state.
As only the top two teams in each group advance, Johor’s participation in the team event has ended, following their initial losses to the Federal Territories and Penang, both of whom finished above them.
However, the three-time Olympic silver medallist Chong Wei was still impressed by the youngsters.
“I only saw two matches today but the boys did a good job,” said Chong Wei, who took on the ambassador role last year.
The 43-year-old, who chairs the Badminton Association of Malaysia performance committee, acknowledged that he had yet to assess the potential of any players to break into the national team.
“It’s too early to say for sure. I will have to observe in more detail when I come here next.”
Chong Wei, who himself has one gold medal and one silver medal from his time representing Penang in the 2000 and 2002 Games respectively, was vocal on how the Games was a great platform to unearth raw potential in the younger generation.
“If they do well here, there’s a high possibility of making the national team in the near future.”
