Asian Games
Official logo of the Games
Games
1951 • 1954 • 1958 • 1962 • 1966 • 1970 • 1974 • 1978 • 1982 • 1986 • 1990 • 1994 • 1998 • 2002 • 2006 • 2010 • 2014
Sports (details)
Archery • Athletics • Badminton • Basketball • Boxing • Canoeing • Cricket • Cycling • Diving • Equestrian • Field hockey • Fencing • Football • Golf  • Gymnastics • Handball • Judo • Kabaddi • Karate • Modern pentathlon • Rowing • Rugby union • Sailing • Sepaktakraw • Shooting • Soft tennis • Squash • Swimming • Synchronized swimming • Table tennis • Taekwondo • Tennis • Triathlon • Volleyball • Water polo • Weightlifting • Wrestling • Wushu

The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad,^{[clarification needed]} is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation.^[1] The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.^[2][3]

In its history, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games. 46 nations have participated in the Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974.

The last Asian Games was held at Guangzhou, People's Republic of China last 12 November – 27 November 2010. The next Games will be held at Incheon, South Korea.

History[link]

Prior formation[link]

Before the Asian Games were held, there was a gathering known as the Far Eastern Games which was first mooted in 1912 between Empire of Japan, the Philippine Islands and China. The first Games were then held in Manila in 1913 and ten further gatherings were held until 1934. However, against the backdrop of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1934, in the face of Japan's insistence on including Manchu Empire as competitor nation in the Games, China announced its withdrawal from participation. The Games scheduled for 1938 were cancelled and the organization was discontinued thereafter.

Formation[link]

After World War II, a number of Asian countries became independent. Many of the newly independent Asian countries wanted to see a new type of competition where Asian dominance would not be shown by violence but would be strengthened by mutual understanding. During the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a conversation between sportsmen from China and the Philippines raised the idea of restoring the Far Eastern Games. However, the Indian International Olympic Committee representative Guru Dutt Sondhi thought that the restoration of the Games would not be sufficient to show the spirit of unity and level of achievement in Asian sports, so proposed to sports leaders the idea of having discussions about holding a wholly new competition — the Asian Games. This gave rise to the agreement to form the Asian Athletic Federation. A preparatory committee was set up to draft the charter for this new body. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Athletic Federation was formally inaugurated in New Delhi, alongside the name Asian Games Federation, with New Delhi announced as the first host city of the Asian Games which were scheduled to be held in 1950.^[4][5]

Crisis, reorganization, expansion[link]

First Asian Games Opening Ceremony

Starting in 1962, the Games were hit by several crises. First, the host country Indonesia, refused to permit the participation of Israel and the Republic of China due to political and religious issues. As a result, the IOC removed its sponsorship of the Games and terminated Indonesia as one of the IOC members.^[6] The Asian Football Confederation (AFC),^[7] International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), also removed their recognition of the Games.^[8][9]

In 1970, South Korea dropped its plan to host the Games declined due to national security crisis, however the main reason was due to financial crisis, forcing the previous host Thailand to administer the Games again in Bangkok using funds transferred from South Korea.^[10] Prior to the Games, Japan was asked to host the Games, but declined due to Expo '70 in Osaka.^[11] This edition also marked the first time the Games have a television broadcasting throughout the world.^[12] In 1974, the Games formally recognized the participation of China, North Korea and Mongolia. Israel was allowed to participate despite the opposition from Arab World, while Taiwan was permitted to take part despite its status was abolished in general meeting on November 16, 1973 by Games Federation.^[13]

The last is 1978, Pakistan dropped its plan to host the Games in 1975 due to financial crisis and political issues.^[14] Thailand offered to help and the Games were once again held in Bangkok. However, once again, like in 1962, Taiwan and Israel were refused the participation by Games Federation, amid political issues and security fears.^[15] Several governing bodies protested against the ban, like IAAF, threatened to bar the participating players from 1980 Summer Olympics,^[16] this caused several teams to withdraw prior to the Games.^[17]

Following this series of crises, the National Olympic Committee in Asia decided to revise the constitution of the Asian Games Federation. A new association, named the Olympic Council of Asia, was created in November 1981 with the exclusion of Israel.^[18] India was already scheduled to host the 1982 Games and the OCA decided not to drop the old AGF timetable. The OCA formally supervised the Games starting with the 1986 Asian Games in South Korea.^[19] In the succeeding Games, Taiwan (Republic of China) was re-admitted, but was forced by the People's Republic of China to compete under the name Chinese Taipei.^[20]

In 1994, the Games were first time included the nations of former Republics of the Soviet Union of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Also to note it is the first time that the Games were held outside the capital city of host country.^[21] However, Iraq was suspended from the Games due to Gulf War in 1990, while North Korea boycotted the Games due to relation problems. It is also marred by the death of Nepalese delegation Nareshkumar Adhikari during the Game's opening ceremony.^[22] The 1998 Games marked the fourth time held in Bangkok, Thailand in history. Differ to December 6 as opening ceremony date to previous three occasions on December 9, the Games were closing on same day all time, December 20, while all opened by Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Future changes[link]

The number of competition events is scheduled to shrink down to just 35 sports at the 2014 Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea. 2014 will also see the last Games hosted in even-numbered year, as the Olympic Council of Asia pushed the subsequent Games to just one year ahead of the Olympic Games. This means the 18th Asian Games which were originally planned for 2018 will be pushed to 2019.

Participation[link]

2006 Asian Games

All 45 members affiliated to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) are eligible to take part in the Games. In history, 46 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have sent competitors to the Games. Israel has been excluded from the Games since 1976, the reason cited as being due to security reasons.^[23] Israel requested to participate in the 1982 Games, but the request was rejected by the organizers due to incident in 1972 Summer Olympics.^[24] Israel is now a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC).

Due to its continuing ambiguous political status, Taiwan has participated in the Games under the flag of Chinese Taipei since 1990. Macau is allowed to compete as one of the NOCs in Asian Games, despite not being recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for participation in the Olympic Games.

In 2007, the President of OCA, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, rejected the proposal to allow Australia to participate in the Games. He stated that while Australia would add good value to the Asian Games, it would be unfair to the other NOCs in Oceania.^[25]

Only seven countries, namely India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand have competed in all editions of the games.

Sports[link]

44 sports were presented in Asian Games history, including 2010 Games in Guangzhou.

Medal count[link]

Of the 46 National Olympic Committees participating throughout the history of the Games, 43 nations have won at least a single medal in the competition, leaving three nations: Bhutan, Maldives and Timor-Leste yet to win a single medal. 34 nations have won at least a single gold medal, while Japan and China became the only two nations in history to emerge as overall champions.

Samsung MVP award[link]

Samsung introduced the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in Asian Games since 1998 Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Below is the list of winners:

Year	Athlete	Sport (Discipline)	References
1998	Koji Ito	Athletics	[26]
2002	Kosuke Kitajima	Aquatics	[26]
2006	Park Tae-Hwan	Aquatics	[27]
2010	Lin Dan	Badminton	[28]

List of Asian Games[link]

Host countries of the games through 2014. Red spot denotes the city of the Games.

Year	Games	Host	Dates	Nations	Athletes	Sports	Events	Ref
1951	I	New Delhi, India	March 4–11	11	489	6	57	[29]
1954	II	Manila, Philippines	May 1–9	19	970	8	76	[30]
1958	III	Tokyo, Japan	May 28 – June 1	16	1,820	13	97	[31]
1962	IV	Jakarta, Indonesia	August 24 – September 4	12	1,460	13	88	[32]
1966	V	Bangkok, Thailand	December 9–20	16	1,945	14	143	[33]
1970	VI	Bangkok, Thailand	August 24 – September 4	16	2,400	13	135	[34]
1974	VII	Tehran, Iran	September 1–16	19	3,010	16	202	[35]
1978	VIII	Bangkok, Thailand	December 9–20	19	3,842	19	201	[36]
1982	IX	New Delhi, India	November 19 – December 4	23	3,411	21	147	[37]
1986	X	Seoul, South Korea	September 20 – October 5	27	4,839	25	270	[38]
1990	XI	Beijing, China	September 22 – October 7	36	6,122	29	310	[39]
1994	XII	Hiroshima, Japan	October 2–16	42	6,828	34	337	[40]
1998	XIII	Bangkok, Thailand	December 6–20	41	6,554	36	376	[41]
2002	XIV	Busan, South Korea	September 29 – October 14	44	7,711	38	419	[42]
2006	XV	Doha, Qatar	December 1–15	45	9,520	39	424	[43]
2010	XVI	Guangzhou, China	November 12–27	45	9,704	42	476	[44]
2014	XVII	Incheon, South Korea	September 19 – October 4	Future event
2019	XVIII			Future event
2023	XIX			Future event

See also[link]

Asian Games portal

• List of IOC country codes

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Asian Games

• Olympic Council of Asia: Games

v t e Association of National Olympic Committees All-African Games Asian Games Pan American Games Africa ANOCA – Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Americas PASO – Pan American Sports Organization Asia OCA – Olympic Council of Asia Europe EOC – European Olympic Committees Oceania ONOC – Oceania National Olympic Committees

Ma Long at the 2009 World Championships in Yokohama, Japan.
Personal information
Nationality	China
Playing style	Righted-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking	1 (Current)[1]
Born	(1988-10-20) October 20, 1988 (age 23)[2] Liaoning, China
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[3]
Weight	70 kg (150 lb; 11 st)[3]
Medal record Men's table tennis Competitor for  China World Championships Gold 2012 Dortmund Team Bronze 2011 Rotterdam Singles Gold 2011 Rotterdam Doubles Gold 2010 Moscow Team Bronze 2009 Yokohama Singles Silver 2009 Yokohama Doubles Gold 2008 Guangzhou Team Gold 2006 Bremen Team World Cup Gold 2011 Magdeburg Team Gold 2010 Dubai Team Bronze 2009 Moscow Singles Gold 2009 Linz Team Bronze 2008 Liege Singles Asian Championships Gold 2012 Macau Singles Bronze 2012 Macau Doubles Gold 2012 Macau Team Gold 2009 Lucknow Singles Gold 2009 Lucknow Doubles Gold 2009 Lucknow Mixed Doubles Gold 2009 Lucknow Team Silver 2007 Yangzhou Singles Gold 2007 Yangzhou Doubles Gold 2007 Yangzhou Team Bronze 2005 Jeju-do Mixed Doubles Gold 2005 Jeju-dаккакo Team

Ma Long (simplified Chinese: 马龙; traditional Chinese: 馬龍; pinyin: Mǎ Lóng; born October 20, 1988 in Anshan City, Liaoning Province, China) is a male table tennis player.^[2] He is now ranked 1° as of January, 2012 in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).^[1] Ma Long has won a record 5 ITTF Pro Tour tournaments in a row. In this streak he has won 35 sets in a row. He is the only player to win a tournament without dropping a set (Swedish open 2011.).

Equipment[link]

Ma Long currently uses a custom made DHS PG-7 FL with a DHS Skyline III National Version (blue sponge, black) for his forehand and a Butterfly Tenergy 05(red) for his backhand

Career records[link]

Singles (as of March 4, 2012)^[4]

• World Championships: SF (2009, 11).
• World Cup appearances: 2. Record: 3rd (2008, 09).
• Pro Tour winner (13): Kuwait, German Open 2007; Korea, Singapore Open 2008; Danish, Kuwait, China (Suzhou), English Open 2009; German Open 2010; China (Suzhou), Austrian, Swedish Open 2011; Hungarian Open 2012.
  Runner-up (6): German Open 2005; Japan, Swedish Open 2007; UAE, China (Shenzen) Open 2011; Slovenian Open 2012.
• Pro Tour Grand Finals appearances: 5. Record: winner (2008, 2009, 2011); SF (2007).
• Asian Games: winner (2010).
• Asian Championships: winner (2009, 12); runner-up (2007).
• Asian Cup: 1sкккп (2008, 09, 11).
• World Junior Championships: winner (2004).

Men's Doubles

• World Championships: winner (2011); runner-up (2009).
• Pro Tour winner (11): China (Harbin) Open 2005; Slovenian Open 2006; Swedish Open 2007; Danish, Qatar, English Open 2009; Kuwait, German Open 2010; China (Shenzen), Austrian Open 2011; Slovenian Open 2012.
  Runner-up (7): China (Shenzhen) Open 2005; Singapore Open 2006; China (Shenzhen) Open 2007; Qatar, Korea Open 2008; Kuwait Open 2009; China (Suzhou) Open 2011.
• Pro Tour Grand Finals appearances: 3. Record: winner (2006); runner-up (2011); SF (2007).
• Asian Games: SF (2006).
• Asian Championships: winner (2007, 09); SF (2012).

Mixed Doubles

• Asian Games: QF (2006).
• Asian Championships: winner (2009); SF (2005).

Team

• World Championships: 1st (2006, 08, 10).
• World Team Cup: 1st (2009, 10, 11).
• Asian Games: 1st (2006, 10).
• Asian Championships: 1st (2005, 07, 09, 12).

Other

• Winning Streak: He went unbeaten for 40 single matches by December 2011.^[5]

References[link]

• Career profile of Ma Long Table Tennis Master

This biographical article relating to a People's Republic of China table tennis figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Nationality	Japan
Playing style	Right-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking	29 (November 2010)[1]
Born	(1991-04-11) April 11, 1991 (age 21)[2] Nanao-shi, Ishikawa, Japan
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	57 kg (130 lb; 9.0 st)
Medal record Men's table tennis Competitor for  Japan World Championships Bronze 2010 Moscow Team

Kenta Matsudaira (松平 健太, Matsudaira Kenta^?) (born April 11, 1991) is a Japanese table tennis player. Winner of 2006 World Junior Championships in boys' singles.^[3] He was ranked as the number one junior player in the world.^[4] Kenta has supposedly one of the world's best serves. He serves either a regular tomahawk service or a backhand tomahawk service.^[5]

Kenta became well known after a near upset vs Olympic champion Ma Lin in the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships using his virtually unseen before, advanced tomahawk serves, compact speed technique, and dynamic backhand control. Kenta won 3 straight games from a 1-3 deficit and held the lead at 4-1 in the seventh. (Kenta lost the set 11-9.)^[6]

References[link]

This biographical article relating to a Japanese table tennis figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Dan Lin (Chinese: 林暐; pinyin: Lin Wei) is an American Hollywood film producer and CEO of Lin Pictures, a filmed entertainment production company that he formed in January 2008. In September 2008, Lin was honored as one of Variety's "10 producers to watch."^[1]

Lin currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and is a mentor for both the Producers Guild of America and the Center for Asian American Media.

Lin is currently producing the Lego movie based in Sydney which will be released in 2014.^[2]

Early life[link]

Dan Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the son of an executive in international food. He spent his childhood in Taiwan and Hong Kong before moving to the United States at the age of five.

In 1994, Lin received his undergraduate education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and in 1999, earned a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.^[3]

Lin is the first cousin of Taiwanese American singers Stanley Huang, Jeff Huang and Steven Lin of boyband L.A. Boyz.^[4]

Warner Bros. Pictures[link]

Between his first and second year at Harvard Business School, Lin undertook a summer internship program with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, who was then an executive with Warner Bros. Pictures. In 1999, a day after Lin's graduation, the studio executive immediately offered him a junior position at Warners. Lin worked his way up to Senior Vice President of Production and left in 2007 to form his own company. During his eight years at Warners, Lin oversaw the development and production of the Academy Award-winning film "The Departed," directed by Martin Scorsese. Other films Lin oversaw include "10,000 BC," directed by Roland Emmerich; "The Aviator," directed by Martin Scorsese; "Alexander" directed by Oliver Stone, "TMNT"; "Invasion"; "Unaccompanied Minors"; "Matchstick Men"; "Scooby-Doo 2"; and "Torque."

Lin Pictures[link]

In January 2008 he formed Lin Pictures, based at Warner Bros.^[5] He described the transition from development executive to producer as natural: "It’s a symbiotic relationship between the studio and the producers, we all work together towards the same goal – make the best movie possible."^[6]

Filmography[link]

• Godzilla (2012) – Producer
• The Gangster Squad (2012) – Producer
• Sherlock Holmes 2 (2011) – Producer
• Sherlock Holmes (2009) – Producer
• The Box (2009) – Producer
• The Invention of Lying (2009) – Producer
• Terminator Salvation (2009) – Executive Producer

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dan Lin at the Internet Movie Database

Lee Chong Wei
200px
Personal information
Birth name	李宗伟
Born	(1982-10-21) October 21, 1982 (age 29) George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st)
Country	Malaysia
Handedness	Right
Coach	Tey Seu Bock
Men's singles
Highest Ranking	1 (29 June 2006 – 20 July 2006, 24 August 2006 – 21 September 2006, 21 August 2008 –)
Current Ranking	1 (Thursday, January 05, 2012[1])
Medal record Competitor for  Malaysia Men's badminton Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Men's singles World Championships Silver 2011 London Men's Singles Bronze 2005 Anaheim Men's singles Asian Games Silver 2010 Guangzhou Men's singles Bronze 2006 Doha Men's singles Bronze 2006 Doha Team Sudirman Cup Bronze 2009 Guangzhou Team Thomas Cup Bronze 2010 Kuala Lumpur Team Bronze 2008 Jakarta Team Bronze 2006 Sendai/Tokyo Team Commonwealth Games Gold 2010 Delhi Men's singles Gold 2010 Delhi Mixed Team Gold 2006 Melbourne Men's singles Gold 2006 Melbourne Mixed Team Asian Championship Gold 2006 Johor Bahru Men's singles
BWF Profile

Datuk Lee Chong Wei (simplified Chinese: 李宗伟; traditional Chinese: 李宗偉; pinyin: Lǐ Zōngwěi; born October 21, 1982 in Georgetown, Penang^[2]) is a professional badminton player from Malaysia who resides in Bukit Mertajam.^[3] Lee won the silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games, thus becoming the first Malaysian to reach the final of the men's singles event and ending Malaysia's Olympic medal drought since the 1996 Games. This achievement also earned him the title Datuk, and a description by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as a national hero.^[4]

As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide on August 21, 2008.^[5] He is the third Malaysian men's singles shuttler after Rashid Sidek and Roslin Hashim to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the ranking for more than two weeks.

Lee is one of the most accomplished Malaysian badminton players having won two All-England championships. However, he is still searching for his first Olympic Games, World Championship and Asian Games titles as the world number 1.

Personal life[link]

In his early years, Lee favoured basketball, however his mother soon banned him from that activity due to the searing heat of the outdoor basketball court. Lee began to learn badminton at the age of 11, when his father, who liked to play the game, brought him to the badminton hall. Attracting the attention of a local coach, the coach asked Lee's father if he could take him as a student. After receiving the nod from his father, the coach began to train Lee after school.^[6] Discovered by Misbun Sidek, he was drafted into the national squad when he was seventeen years old.^[7]

On November 3, 2006, Lee was involved in a car accident. On his way to Bukit Jalil after dinner, he was knocked from behind by a vehicle which had lost control after a tire burst. He was then sent to the Sunway Medical Centre and treated with six stitches for his head injury.^[8]

Lee received RM300,000 on August 21, 2008, as a reward for his silver medal effort in the 2008 Olympic Games. Also, he received RM3,000 a month as a lifetime pension beginning in August 2008.^[9] For the same achievement, he was conferred with a Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN), which carries the title Datuk by Governor of Penang, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas on August 30, 2008.^[10]

On June 6, 2009, Lee received the Darjah Bakti (DB) award, from Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, in conjunction with the Birthday of Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, for his achievements in the 2008 Olympics.^[11] He was in a relationship with Wong Mew Choo, his teammate.^[12] However, Lee and Wong announced they are no longer together during the 2009 World Championships in Hyderabad, India.^[13]

On March 16, 2011, Lee received Permodalan Nasional Berhad shares worth MYR100,000 from Najib Tun razak soon after his triumph in All England Open.^[14] He appointed as KDU University College ambassador on July 31, 2011.^[15]

He has hinted he could retire following the 2012 Olympics.^[16]

Lee autobiography "Dare to be a Champion" was officially published on January 18, 2012.^[17]

Career[link]

2002–2007[link]

Lee picked up only one title in 2002 and 2003, the major achievement being, reaching the final of the 2003 Malaysia Open, his first final of a major tournament, where was defeated by Chen Hong of China.^[18]

Lee then secured two titles in 2004, the Malaysia Open and Chinese Taipei Open. Lee gained a spot for 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In his first Olympics appearance, Lee defeated Ng Wei of Hong Kong in the first round. His journey ended in the second round when he was beaten by Chen Hong.^[19] Lee then bagged another two titles in 2005, his second Malaysia Open title and Denmark Open. Lee bagged bronze in his first appearance in the world meet, the 2005 World Championships after losing to eventual winner Taufik Hidayat in the semifinal.^[20]

Lee then wrapped up three titles out of six finals in 2006. He was crowned as the winner of Swiss Open,^[21] Asian Badminton Championships and his third Malaysia Open title. He also reached the final of the Chinese Taipei Open, Macau Open and Hong Kong Open. In the Malaysia Open, Lee pulled an amazing comeback, as he fought back from 13–20 down in the rubber game and saved eight match points against Lin Dan, and finally wrapped up the game 23–21 to secure the title.^[22] Lee helped Malaysia bagged two gold medals in the badminton event for 2006 Commonwealth Games in March, in both men's singles and mixed team event.^[23] Lee reaches top spot twice in Badminton World Federation's world rankings in 2006,^[24] and he participated in the World Championships as top seed.^[25] However, he was upset by Bao Chunlai of China in the quarterfinal despite Lee holds all win in previous meeting. The match was also marred by two controversial line calls that were not in favour of Lee.^[26]

The 2007 season saw Lee failing to reach the final for the first time in five years in Malaysia Open, he also suffered an early exit in five competitions afterward and only saw him bounce back and took the Indonesia Open crown, his first title since the 2006 Malaysia Open after reuniting with former coach Misbun Sidek from Li Mao.^[27] His performance at the second half of the year was solid, as he achieved three titles in Philippines Open, Japan Open, and French Open. He also managed to reach the final of the China Open and Hong Kong Open, despite his knee injury haunting him on both occasions.^[28] Lee won all matches he played in Sudirman Cup in June, despite Malaysia finished only fifth in the tournament.^[29] Lee's lowlight of the year was in World Championships, despite the tournament held in front of his home crowd and his solid performance during the second half of the year, he was upset in the third round to Indonesian's Sony Dwi Kuncoro.^[30] Lee took a swipe at chief coach Yap Kim Hock soon after the defeat by claiming that Yap treated him indifferently and was putting pressure in his preparation for the championships.^[31]

2008[link]

Lee Chong Wei playing in the semifinals of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

Lee kicked off year 2008 in success, capturing his fourth Malaysia Open title in five years.^[32] However, Lee only captured his second title of the year in Singapore Open,^[33] also the final tournament in his pre-Olympic preparations, just after five tournaments he took part, in Korea Open;^[34] All England Open;^[35] Swiss Open;^[36] Badminton Asia Championships;^[37] and Thomas Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia where Lee helped Malaysia advanced through to the semifinal where he defeated Lin Dan to give Malaysia a 1–0 lead in its clash with defending champion China. However, Malaysia eventually lost 2–3 due to the defeat of its first doubles team in the vital final match.^[38]

In the 2008 Olympic Games, Lee was given a bye in the first round. He cruised to straight game victories over Ronald Susilo in the second round, Kęstutis Navickas in the third round,^[39] and Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the quarterfinals.^[40] He had a scare in the semifinals where Lee Hyun-il gave him a tough fight, but eventually Chong Wei was able to beat the South Korean and reach the final.^[41] However, it was a one-sided final, as Lee was completely outplayed by Lin Dan and salvaged only 20 points, losing 12–21, 8–21.^[42] He came second place overall.

Lee participated in several tournaments after the Olympic Games, without capturing a title. He advanced to the finals of the Japan Open, the Macau Open and China Open, but lost to Sony Dwi Kuncoro,^[43] Taufik Hidayat,^[44] and Lin Dan respectively.^[45] In the French Open Lee was eliminated in the semifinals.^[46] His coach, Misbun Sidek, cited the pressure of being ranked world number one to explain Lee's recent failure to capture a title.^[47]

Lee ended his last Super Series tourney of the year, the Hong Kong Open, with a sudden withdrawal due to a knee injury, conceding a walkover to Germany’s Marc Zwiebler.^[48] His last minute withdrawal led to the Chinese media to tag him as the "weakest world number one".^[49] The Chinese media also speculated that the three factors had hampered Lee's performance since the Olympic Games. They listed these as the stress of the Olympic final, a phobia of Lin Dan due to his lopsided Olympic defeat at Lin's hands, and (echoing Misbun Sidek's conjecture) the pressure of being the world number one.^[50]

Despite Lee's recent difficulties in international play, he recorded his seventh consecutive victory at the National Badminton Grand Prix Final in Kedah on December 12, 2008, thus breaking the record of six consecutive titles set by Misbun Sidek.^[51] Lee ended the year with a title in the Super Series Masters Finals, however, Lin Dan and China's other top players did not compete, their association citing injuries and fatigue.^[52]

2009[link]

Lee Chong Wei started 2009 season with his fifth Malaysia Open title.^[53] He failed to secure his first Korea Open and All England Open title despite marching into the final.^[54][55] However, he secured his second title of the year in the Swiss Open which was held in Basel, defeating Lin Dan in straight sets and marking his first win in the finals against the Chinese opponent outside home turf.^[56] Next, Lee surprisingly was defeated by Chen Long of China in the India Open.^[57] He cited that the loss was due to food poisoning and insisted the authorities to improve the conditions before the World Championships.^[58] In May, Lee helped Malaysia reached the semi-finals of the Sudirman Cup, the first in national history, despite his unbeaten record in the tournament being blown out by Lin Dan.^[59] He bagged another two titles in June, the Indonesia Open,^[60] and the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold,^[61] despite failing to defend his Singapore Open title when he was surprised by Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round.^[62]

Lee kicks off second half of the season with defeat to Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the world meets,^[63] but recovery to won the Macau Open in August.^[64] He reached semi-final in the China Masters, but once again failed to beat his all time rivalry Lin Dan.^[65] Then, Lee participated in the Japan Open, he only manage into second round of the Open,^[66] before won the Hong Kong Open in November.^[67] His inconsistency saw him tumbles down in the first round of the China Open.^[68] In December, Lee defended his Super Series Masters Finals title, which saw the competition played without the top badminton players in the world.^[69]

2010[link]

Lee started the year with the title in all events he took part, his first treble in the Super Series titles. His first ever Korea Open crown,^[70] sixth Malaysia Open,^[71] and defeated Kenichi Tago to win the oldest and prestigious badminton championship in the world, the All England Open, his first one since he took part in 2004.^[72]

Lee participated in the Thomas Cup in his home ground. He managed to defeat Kenichi Tago and take the first point, despite Malaysia's eventual loss (2–3) to Japan.^[73] In the quarter finals, he beat Peter Gade, thus helping to secure Malaysia's place in the semi-finals.^[74] In the semi finals against China, Lee was defeated by Lin Dan, which ended his 18-match unbeaten record since the start of the year.^[75]

In June, Lee participated in Singapore Open losing in the quarter-finals.^[76] However, Lee bounced back winning the Indonesia Open,^[77] Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold in July,^[78] and Macau Open in August.^[79] In late August, Lee suffered a shock exit in his another attempt for World Championships, beaten by Taufik Hidayat in the quarterfinals.^[80] Misbun cited that the lost was due to the back injury he picked-up after the match against Rajiv Ouseph in the third round.^[81] On September 26, Lee beat his arch rival Lin Dan in Japan Open, the only title not grabbed by Chinese players in the tournament.^[82]

In October, he helped Malaysia to beat India to defend the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games mixed team event, then he also successfully defended his gold medal once again in the singles event a few days later.^[83] The following month he won a silver medal at the Asian Games. Despite beating reigning World Champion Chen Jin in the semi-final, Lee once again tasted defeat at the hands of his great rival, Lin Dan, in the final.^[84] In season end, He bagged the second consecutive Hong Kong Open title,^[85] and third consecutive Super Series Master Finals title, where the tournament was held in January 2011.^[86]

2011[link]

In January, Lee won his seventh Malaysia Open title by defeating Taufik Hidayat from Indonesia in the final.^[87] However, he failed to defend the Korea Open title, the world's first ever million-dollar badminton tournament, after being beaten by Lin Dan from China in three games.^[88] In March, Lee cruised into the final of the All England Open for the third consecutive time and retained his title successfully with a convincing straight games victory over Lin Dan, and was praised by prime minister Najib Tun Razak.^[89]

On Labour Day, he won his first ever India Open,^[90] and also his third consecutive Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold title a week later.^[91] Despite the fact that Lee won all his matches he played during the Sudirman Cup, Malaysia's journey ended in quarterfinals, after being beaten by South Korea 2–3.^[92][93][94] In late June, he won the Indonesia Open, becoming the first non-Indonesian player to complete the hat-trick in the tournament.^[95]

Lee's hopes of becoming the first Malaysian to win gold in the World Championships were dashed after defeat by Lin Dan in the final. Lee led for most of the match but lost two important match points in the rubber game.^[96] In September, Lee also failed to defend his Japan Open crown after defeated by China's rising star Chen Long.^[97] In October, he lost to Chen Long again in bid of winning his second Denmark Open title.^[98] He won the French Open a week later.^[99] This was followed by triple semi-finals exit in Hong Kong Open,^[100] China Open,^[101] and Super Series Master Finals.^[102]

2012[link]

Lee started the Olympic year with the first Super Series tournament of the season, the Korea Open. In a repeat of last year's final, he avenged his loss to Lin Dan by defeating him in three sets.^[103] A week later, he captured his fifth straight and eighth Malaysia Open title, thus equalling the number of home titles held by Wong Peng Soon who won between 1940 and 1953.^[104]

In March, Lee lost in the All England Open when he was retired in the second game after received medical for three times. This also dashed Lee hopes to become first man in open era to win three successive All England Open title.^[105] In April, he was upset by South Korean Shon Wan-ho in the final of India Open,^[106] but he retained Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold title for fourth time in a row in May.^[107] Lee out for three to four weeks after suffered ankle injury during Thomas Cup Group C tie against Denmark.^[108]

Awards and honours[link]

Below is the list of awards won by Lee, also he was appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2009.^[109]

Achievements[link]

Career finals (42 titles, 22 runner-ups)[link]

Outcome	Year	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score
1	2012	Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold (4)	Sony Dwi Kuncoro	17–21, 21–8, 21–10
2	2012	India Open	Shon Wan-ho	18–21, 21–14, 19–21
2	2012	All England Open	Lin Dan	19–21, 2–6 (retired)
1	2012	Malaysia Open (8)	Kenichi Tago	21–6, 21–13
1	2012	Korea Open (2)	Lin Dan	12–21, 21–18, 21–14
1	2011	French Open (2)	Kenichi Tago	21–16, 21–11
2	2011	Denmark Open	Chen Long	15–21, 18–21
2	2011	Japan Open	Chen Long	8–21, 21–10, 19–21
2	2011	World Championships	Lin Dan	22–20, 14–21, 21–23
1	2011	Indonesia Open (4)	Peter Gade	21–11, 21–7
1	2011	Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold (3)	Bao Chunlai	21–9, 21–19
1	2011	India Open	Peter Gade	21–12, 12–21, 21–15
1	2011	All England Open (2)	Lin Dan	21–17, 21–17
2	2011	Korea Open	Lin Dan	19–21, 21–14, 16–21
1	2011	Malaysia Open (7)	Taufik Hidayat	21–8, 21–17
1	2010	Super Series Masters Finals (3)	Peter Gade	21–9, 21–14
1	2010	Hong Kong Open (2)	Taufik Hidayat	21–19, 21–9
2	2010	Asian Games	Lin Dan	13–21, 21–15, 10–21
1	2010	Commonwealth Games (2)	Rajiv Ouseph	21–10, 21–8
1	2010	Japan Open (2)	Lin Dan	22–20, 16–21, 21–17
1	2010	Macau Open (2)	Lee Hyun-il	No match
1	2010	Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold (2)	Wong Choong Hann	21–8, 14–21, 21–15
1	2010	Indonesia Open (3)	Taufik Hidayat	21–19, 21–8
1	2010	All England Open (1)	Kenichi Tago	21–19, 21–19
1	2010	Malaysia Open (6)	Boonsak Ponsana	21–13, 21–7
1	2010	Korea Open (1)	Peter Gade	21–12, 21–11
1	2009	Super Series Masters Finals (2)	Park Sung-hwan	21–17, 21–17
1	2009	Hong Kong Open (1)	Peter Gade	21–13, 13–21, 21–16
1	2009	Macau Open (1)	Wong Choong Hann	21–15, 21–19
1	2009	Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold (1)	Chen Long	21–16, 21–9
1	2009	Indonesia Open (2)	Taufik Hidayat	21–9, 21–14
1	2009	Swiss Open (2)	Lin Dan	21–16, 21–16
2	2009	All England Open	Lin Dan	19–21, 12–21
2	2009	Korea Open	Peter Gade	18–21, 21–10, 17–21
1	2009	Malaysia Open (5)	Park Sung-hwan	21–14, 21–13
1	2008	Super Series Masters Finals (1)	Peter Gade	21–8, 21–16
2	2008	China Open	Lin Dan	18–21, 9–21
2	2008	Macau Open	Taufik Hidayat	19–21, 15–21
2	2008	Japan Open	Sony Dwi Kuncoro	17–21, 11–21
2	2008	Olympic Games	Lin Dan	12–21, 8–21
1	2008	Singapore Open	Simon Santoso	21–13, 21–5
2	2008	Swiss Open	Lin Dan	13–21, 18–21
1	2008	Malaysia Open (4)	Lee Hyun-il	21–15, 11–21, 21–17
2	2007	Hong Kong Open	Lin Dan	21–9, 15–21, 15–21
2	2007	China Open	Bao Chunlai	12–21, 13–21
1	2007	French Open (1)	Bao Chunlai	21–11, 21–14
1	2007	Japan Open (1)	Taufik Hidayat	22–20, 19–21, 21–19
1	2007	Philippines Open	Chen Hong	21–9, 21–15
1	2007	Indonesia Open (1)	Bao Chunlai	21–15, 21–16
2	2006	Hong Kong Open	Lin Dan	19–21, 21–8, 16–21
2	2006	Macau Open	Lin Dan	18–21, 21–18, 18–21
2	2006	Chinese Taipei Open	Lin Dan	18–21, 21–12, 11–21
1	2006	Malaysia Open (3)	Lin Dan	21–18, 18–21, 23–21
1	2006	Asian Badminton Championships	Boonsak Ponsana	21–12, 21–16
1	2006	Commonwealth Games (1)	Wong Choong Hann	21–13, 21–12
1	2006	Swiss Open (1)	Xia Xuanze	15–8, 15–0
1	2005	Denmark Open	Muhammad Hafiz Hashim	17–14, 15–8
1	2005	Malaysia Open (2)	Lin Dan	17–15, 9–15, 15–9
1	2004	Chinese Taipei Open	Kuan Beng Hong	15–4, 15–10
2	2004	Singapore Open	Kenneth Jonassen	15–17, 4–15
1	2004	Malaysia Open (1)	Park Sung-hwan	15–13, 15–12
1	2003	Malaysia Satellite	Kuan Beng Hong	15–7, 15–9
2	2003	Asian Satellite	Yeoh Kay Bin	5–15, 13–15
2	2003	Malaysia Open	Chen Hong	9–15, 5–15

     Super Series tournament

     Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournament

References[link]

Badminton portal