In his hunt for the country's and his first Olympic Games gold medal, world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei has vowed to take on anyone who stands in his path, including his nemesis, Lin Dan from China.
The badminton event draw for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil showed Chong Wei would most likely face two times Olympic gold medal winner Lin Dan in the semi-final.
Although, Lin Dan had not shown a consistent performance throughout the year, Chong Wei would adopt a cautious approach toward the player from China.
"I am not thinking of the semifinal yet. For a start let me focus on one match at a time. If I meet Lin Dan, I will face him and compete against him.
"This is my last Olympics, so I will make sure I give it my best shot. I hope Malaysians will continue to support the effort of the national badminton squad," he told reporters after the Prime Minister met the national contingent to Rio, at the Prime Minister's Department, here today.
Commenting on the meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Chong Wei said the message delivered by the nation's top leader had boosted the spirit of the Malaysian contingent.
For the record, Chong Wei beat Lin Dan at the China Open and Asia Badminton Championship, both in China, this year.
Chong Wei, runner-up in two previous Olympics, was slotted as top seed this time, while two-time world champion, Chen Long is the second seed followed by 2008 and 2012 Olympics champion Lin Dan.
"The draw is all okay, so I must be prepared mentally and physically. What is most important is that, I should not feel that my opponents are not good and not strong for me," he said.
Meanwhile, national women's pair Vivian Hoo/Woon Khe Wei feel they were lucky to have been drawn against non-seeded pairs in Group C.
They were drawn together with Indonesian pair of Greysia Polii/Nitya Krishninda Maheswari, Heather Olver/Aluren Smith of England and Poon Lok Yan/Tse Ying from Hong Kong.
"To me the draw is quite good as we avoided stronger opponents such as Denmark and China. The seeded players are in the other groups and strong non-seeded players were not voted in Group C.
"We should take this opportunity and hope we can enter the quarter-finals. What is important is that we cannot be too confident because the environment at the Olympics is different because everybody wants to win and there is added pressure," she said.
The mixed doubles pair of Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying were drawn in Group C of the mixed doubles competition with Tontowi Ahmad/Liliana Natsir of Indonesia, Bodin Issara/Pakkawatvilailak of Thailand and Robin Middleton/Leanne Choo from Australia.
The national men's doubles pair of Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong were drawn in Group B, which is regarded a difficult group with the presence of Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan of China, Philip Chew/Jamie Subandhi of the United States, Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddi of India and Michael Fuchs/Johannes Schoettler of Germany.
Bernama
Wed Jul 27 2016
Chong Wei putting on the official jacket of the Malaysian contingent to Rio Olympics onto Datuk Seri Najib Razak while Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin looks on during a meet with the contingent at the Perdana Putra today. - BERNAMApic
Ragbi: Malaysia muncul juara Kejohanan SEA 7s 2024
Pasukan ragbi lelaki tujuh sebelah (7s) negara mencipta sejarah muncul juara Kejohanan Tujuh Sebelah Asia Tenggara (SEA 7s) 2024.
MAPIM seru pertubuhan antarabangsa perkukuh perlindungan untuk wartawan
MAPIM menyeru pertubuhan antarabangsa dan kerajaan memperkuat perlindungan untuk wartawan memandangkan mereka turut menjalankan peranan penting dalam mengekalkan masyarakat demokrasi.
Cuaca panas: Orang ramai tidak perlu risau, KKM sentiasa pantau keadaan - Dr Dzulkefly
Orang ramai diminta tidak khuatir dengan cuaca panas yang melanda beberapa negeri ketika ini kerana situasi itu sentiasa dipantau rapat Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM).
Program Rakyat: Pengunjung digalak guna pengangkutan awam, elak kesesakan
Pengunjung yang ingin menghadiri Program MADANI Rakyat 2024 Zon Utara di Tapak Pesta Sungai Nibong, dekat sini digalakkan untuk menggunakan pengangkutan awam yang disediakan Kementerian Pengangkutan.
Azizulhasni raih motivasi hadapi minggu mencabar di Jepun
Azizulhasni menang dua pingat emas masing-masing dalam acara pecut dan keirin pada perlumbaan Siri Trek ASEAN di Velodrom Nasional.
JDT sediakan fasiliti latihan terbaik untuk skuad B-17 negara
Skuad muda negara bimbingan Javier Jorda Ribera dijadual menjalani kem latihan pusat di Pasir Gudang, Johor sehingga Selasa depan.
Tumpuan Sabtu - 04 Mei 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
Pengamal media rayu campur tangan antarabangsa lindungi wartawan di zon konflik
Lebih 200 wartawan maut di Gaza, Palestin sejak Oktober 2023 tetapi tidak ada tindakan diambil terhadap pelakunya.
Media perlu manfaat kebebasan bersuara, rai kemajmukan Malaysia
Pengamal media di Malaysia perlu memanfaatkan kebebasan bersuara dengan sebaiknya tanpa perlu menggugat keharmonian dan menimbulkan sebarang kekacauan di negara ini.
10 Berita Pilihan - (03 Mei 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Legenda badminton dunia berkumpul di Menara Eiffel
Chong Wei memberikan penghormatan khas kepada penganjur Perlawanan Paris 100 kerana menjemputnya ke perlawanan legenda badminton terbaik dunia.
Lee Chong Wei terkandas di Paris
Chong Wei berkunjung ke Paris untuk majlis 'The Paris 100 Sino-French Badminton Charity Gala' sejak hujung minggu lalu.
Keresahan Chong Wei ada asas namun tidak cerminkan prestasi keseluruhan - Norza
Keresahan disuarakan Datuk Lee Chong Wei susulan keputusan kurang memberangsangkan pada Kejohanan BATC 2024 mempunyai asas tersendiri.
Chong Wei sumber inspirasi Alwi Farhan
Bintang muda Indonesia Alwi Farhan Alhasny menjadikan legenda badminton negara Datuk Lee Chong Wei sebagai idola.
Lee Zii Jia pasrah kerap dibanding dengan Lee Chong Wei
Malah, Zii Jia akui hubungannya dan Chong Wei sebagai 'pelik' terutama selepas bergerak secara profesional.
Final Jelajah Dunia BWF: Axelsen samai rekod tiga kejuaraan berturut-turut Lee Chong Wei
Victor Axelsen mempertahankan gelarannya dalam acara perseorangan lelaki Final Jelajah Dunia BWF dengan menewaskan Shi Yu Qi semalam.
Chong Wei sudah jangka Zii Jia tolak RTG
Legenda badminton negara, Datuk Lee Chong Wei sudah dapat menjangka pemain perseorangan profesional negara, Lee Zii Jia tidak berminat menyertai program Road To Gold (RTG).
Nicol David, Chong Wei dan Mirnawan dipilih sebagai ahli jawatankuasa Road to Gold
Tiga legenda sukan negara itu dipilih atas kepakaran serta pengalaman mereka dalam sukan.
Chong Wei harap Zii Jia selesaikan perjanjian RTG
Jawatankuasa RTG akan membincangkan tindakan susulan pada mesyuarat seterusnya, jika jaguh badminton perseorangan lelaki negara Lee Zii Jia tidak menandatangani perjanjian persetujuan komitmen LOC.
"Bukan sekadar kawan, tetapi keluarga" - Chong Wei sebak pemergian Ah Gan
Berita itu dikongsikan jaguh badminton negara Datuk Lee Chong Wei di media sosialnya.