The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships have been conducted every two years since the 1982 tournament, amended from being conducted every three years since the first tournament held in 1948-1949.

The final phase of the tournament involves twelve teams competing at venues within a host nation and is played concurrently with the final phase of the world women's team championships, the Uber Cup ( first held in 1956-1957). Since 1984 the two competitions have been held jointly at the various stages of play.

Of the twenty-six Thomas Cup tournaments held since 1948-1949, only three nations have won the title. Indonesia is the most successful team, having won the tournament thirteen times. The current cup holder, China, which did not begin to compete until the 1982 series, follows Indonesia with eight titles, while Malaysia has won five titles. Thomas Cup and, to a lesser extent, Uber Cup are the world's "biggest" and most prestigious regularly held badminton events in terms of player and fan interest, trumping major tournaments for individual competitors such as the venerable All-England Championships, the BWF World Championships, and even the badminton competitions at the Olympic Games.

The final phase of the most recent edition of Thomas Cup in 2010 was contested in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 2012 tournament will be held in Wuhan, China from May 20–27, 2012.^[1]

History[link]

First Thomas Cup[link]

The Thomas Cup competition was the idea of Sir George Alan Thomas, a highly successful English badminton player of the early 1900's, who was inspired by tennis's Davis Cup, and football's (soccer's) World Cup first held in 1930. His idea was well received at the general meeting of the International Badminton Federation (now Badminton World Federation) in 1939.^[2][3]

In the same year, Sir George presented the Thomas Cup, officially known as The International Badminton Championship Challenge Cup, produced by Atkin Bros of London at a cost of US$40,000. The Cup stands 28 inches high and 16 inches across at its widest, and consists of three parts: a plinth (pedestal), a bowl, and a lid with player figure ^[3][4].

The first tournament was originally planned for 1941-1942 (badminton seasons in the northern hemisphere traditionally ran from the autumn of one calendar year to the spring of the next), but was delayed when World War II exploded across the continents. Sir George's dream was finally realized in 1948-1949 when ten national teams participated in the first Thomas Cup competition. Three qualifying zones were established: Pan America, Europe, and the Pacific; though Malaya (now Malaysia) was the only Pacific zone participant. In a format that would last until 1984, all ties (matches between nations) would consist of nine individual matches; the victorious nation needing to win at least five of these contests. The top two singles players for each side faced both of the top two players for the opposite side, accounting for four matches. A fifth singles match took place between the third ranked singles players for each team. Finally, two doubles pairings for each side played both of the doubles pairings for the opposite side, accounting for four more matches. Each tie was normally contested over two days, four matches on the first day and five on the next.The United States and Denmark won their respective zone qualifications and thus joined Malaya for the inter-zone ties.

The inter-zone ties were held in the United Kingdom. As the tournament used a knockout (single elimination) system, rather than a round-robin system, one country, Denmark, was given a bye in the first round. Malaya defeated the USA 6–3 in a highly competitive match played in Glasgow, Scotland (curiously, none of the players on either side had previously seen any of the players on the other side play). Of note, this tie marked the first of only three ever matches between the USA's Dave Freeman and Malaya's Wong Peng Soon the two greatest singles players of the early post-war period. In the final round held in Preston, England, Malaya beat Denmark 8–1 and became the first nation to win a Thomas Cup^[5].

Development[link]

During the next several Thomas Cup competitions the number of participating nations grew and a fourth qualifying zone was added. The former Pacific zone was converted into Asian and Australasian zones for the 1954-1955 tournament. Beginning with the second tournament in 1951-1952, zone winners contested to determine a challenger for the reigning champion nation. Until 1964 the Cup-holding nation always hosted these inter-zone ties but was exempt from them, and from the earlier intra-zone matches, needing only to defend its title, at home, in a single, conclusive challenge round tie.

With veterans such as Wong Peng Soon. Ooi Teik Hock, and Ong Poh Lim leading the way Malaya comfortably retained the Cup in Singapore against the USA (7–2) in 1952 and Denmark (8–1) in 1955. Malaya's reign, however, was ended in 1958 (3 matches to 6) by upstart Indonesia led by Ferry Sonneville and Tan Joe Hok. Indonesia successfully defended its title in 1961 against a young team from Thailand which had surprised Denmark in the inter-zone final.^[6]

Amid some complaints of home court advantage (and "home climate" advantage as far as the Europeans were concerned), a rules change effective in 1964 prevented the reigning champion nation from defending the Cup at home twice in succession. The challenge round played in Tokyo, Japan that year was nonetheless controversial because the Danish challengers were barracked and severely harassed during play by young Indonesian fans. A narrow 5–4 Indonesian victory was upheld by the IBF (BWF) over Danish protest. When the challenge round returned to Jakarta in 1967 a resurgent Malaysia led Indonesia 4–3 (despite the spectacular debut of Indonesia's young Rudy Hartono) when crowd interference during the eighth match prompted tournament referee Herbert Scheele to halt play. When Indonesia rejected an IBF (BWF) decision to resume the contest in New Zealand, Malaysia was awarded the outstanding matches (6–3) and with them the Thomas Cup.^[7]

After 1967 the IBF (BWF) further reduced the advantages accorded to the defending champion by eliminating the old challenge round system. Instead, the Cup defender would receive a bye only to an inter-zone semifinal berth and then have to earn its way into the decisive final match. This change, however, proved to be little obstacle for a rampant Indonesia. With a cadre of talented players including Hartono and doubles wizards such as Tjun Tjun and Christian Hadinata, Indonesia dominated Thomas Cup competition throughout the seventies. Its successful effort to regain the cup in 1969-1970 was a struggle, but in the competitions ending in 1973, 1976, and 1979 Indonesia swept its ties by winning a remarkable 51 of 54 individual matches.^[8]

In 1982, however, China burst onto the scene as a new member of the IBF (BWF). Having long before developed players as good as, or better than, any in the world (especially in singles), China defeated Indonesia in a classic 5–4 final in London. Thus began an era continuing to the present which has seen either China or Indonesia capture or retain the Cup. The pattern has been broken only once, by Malaysia in 1992.

Revised format[link]

In the early 1980's the IBF (BWF) revamped the formats of both Thomas Cup and the women's world team championship, the Uber Cup. Starting in 1984 they were held concurrently, every two years not three, with equivalent phases of the two competitions held at the same venues and times. Ties at all stages of the Thomas Cup were trimmed from nine matches to five, played in one day not two. Lineups continued to consist of three singles players and two doubles teams, but each now played a single match against the opposing team's counterpart.

Qualification[link]

The old knockout (single elimination) zone qualification system in which each tie was played at a separate venue and time was eliminated. Instead, common qualifying venues brought many teams together to contend in group round-robin ties followed by playoffs between group leaders. As few as one or as many as three teams from a given venue (depending on the previously assessed strength of its field) would qualify for the final phase of the competition which until 2004 was limited to eight teams. The number of qualifying venues prior to 2004 varied between two and four and their sites basically reflected the long existent loci of badminton strength in the Far East and (to a lesser extent) in Europe (see chart below).

The European qualifying venue usually hosted the greatest number of teams and to streamline play and create more competitive ties, a two tiered system was eventually instituted there. Weaker badminton nations played-off in groups for the right to contest with the stronger national teams. To have an easier road to the inter-zone competition strong Asian teams sometimes competed outside of their "natural" qualification venue. Rising power South Korea, for example, won qualifications held in North America in 1986 and in 1988.

Below shows the qualification slots in tournament history:

Final tournament[link]

From 1984 through 2002 the final phase of Thomas Cup competition brought eight competing teams together. These included the defending champion nation and the host nation exempt from earlier qualification ties. The format of this final phase largely mirrored that of the qualifying venues. The eight teams were divided into pools or groups of four. Round-robin play within each group determined first and second place group finishers who then advanced to the semifinals. Each semifinal tie pitted the top finisher in one group against the second place finisher in the other, with the winners proceeding to the championship match. A playoff for third place between losing semifinalists was instituted in 1984 but was dropped in 1990.

In 2004 The BWF increased the number of Thomas Cup qualifying venues to five, one for each of five regional confederations (Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Pan America) that it had established. It also increased the number of teams qualifying for the final phase of competition to twelve. While all confederations were guaranteed to send at least one qualifier to the final phase, strong regions such as Asia might send several (see chart above). At the finals the twelve qualifying teams were divided into four groups of three teams with round-robin play within each group. Round-robin winners were then placed in separate quarter-final berths of a knockout (single elimination) tournament to await opponents determined by matches between the second place finisher of one group and the third place finisher of another. The draw was played out and the winner of this tournament within a tournament became the Thomas Cup champion.

Results[link]

Thomas Cup summaries[link]

1949 - 1982[link]

Year[9]	Host		Final
			Winner	Score	Runner-up
1949 Details	Preston, England		Malaya	8–1	Denmark
1952 Details	Singapore		Malaya	7–2	United States
1955 Details	Singapore		Malaya	8–1	Denmark
1958 Details	Singapore		Indonesia	6–3	Malaya
1961 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		Indonesia	6–3	Thailand
1964 Details	Tokyo, Japan		Indonesia	5–4	Denmark
1967 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		Malaysia	6–3	Indonesia
1970 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia		Indonesia	7–2	Malaysia
1973 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		Indonesia	8–1	Denmark
1976 Details	Bangkok, Thailand		Indonesia	9–0	Malaysia
1979 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		Indonesia	9–0	Denmark
1982 Details	London, England		China	5–4	Indonesia

1984 - 1988[link]

Year	Host		Final				Third Place
			Winner	Score	Runner-up		Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
1984 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia		Indonesia	3–2	China		England	3–2	Korea
1986 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		China	3–2	Indonesia		Malaysia	3–2	Denmark
1988 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia		China	4–1	Malaysia		Indonesia	5–0	Denmark

1990 onwards[link]

Year	Host		Final				Semi-finalists
			Winner	Score	Runner-up
1990 Details	Tokyo, Japan		China	4–1	Malaysia		Denmark	Indonesia
1992 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia		Malaysia	3–2	Indonesia		China	Korea
1994 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		Indonesia	3–0	Malaysia		Korea	China
1996 Details	Hong Kong		Indonesia	5–0	Denmark		China	Korea
1998 Details	Hong Kong, China SAR		Indonesia	3–2	Malaysia		Denmark	China
2000 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia		Indonesia	3–0	China		Korea	Denmark
2002 Details	Guangzhou, China		Indonesia	3–2	Malaysia		Denmark	China
2004 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		China	3–1	Denmark		Korea	Indonesia
2006 Details	Sendai and Tokyo, Japan		China	3–0	Denmark		Indonesia	Malaysia
2008 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia		China	3–1	Korea		Malaysia	Indonesia
2010 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia		China	3–0	Indonesia		Malaysia	Japan
2012 Details	Wuhan, China		China	3–0	Korea		Japan	Denmark

Successful national teams[link]

Only three nations, Malaysia (formerly Malaya), Indonesia, and China have ever held the Thomas Cup. Curiously each of them won the first Thomas Cup competition that it entered: Malaya, the initial contest in 1949; Indonesia, the 1958 contest against Malaya; and China, the 1982 contest over Indonesia.

Indonesia leads in total titles with thirteen. It won four consecutive titles from 1970 through 1979 and five consecutive titles from 1994 through 2002. Indonesia's ten year reign as champions was ended by the resurgence of China in 2004 when the Chinese won the title in Jakarta. Indonesia has played in the decisive final tie on eighteen occasions. Since the Thomas Cup format was overhauled in 1984, it has never failed to place among the top four teams.

China has captured the Cup on nine occasions including the last five in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012. It has contested the final tie eleven times and, like Indonesia, has never failed to place among the top four teams. China has won more titles than other countries since entering the Thomas Cup competition for the first time in 1982.

Malaysia has won five times, the last being in 1992. It has played in the final tie on thirteen occasions. Since the format change in 1984 it has reached the "final four" nine of thirteen times.

Despite its small population, Denmark has traditionally been Europe's strongest power in men's badminton and the strongest badminton nation not to have captured the Thomas Cup. The only European nation to have played in the final tie, it has finished second eight times spanning from the first competition in 1949 to the 2006 tournament. The USA, a power in the early days of international badminton (especially in women's competition), finished second to Malaya in 1952 but thereafter steadily fell behind the leading badminton nations. Thailand, with a king who promoted the sport, produced outstanding players at the time of its run to the final in 1961, and for some years after that, but has since descended to a lower rung on the international ladder.

Among all the other contending nations, South Korea has the best record. Rising to prominence in the 1980's, and especially strong in doubles, it had reached the "final four" six times before finally reaching the "final two" in 2008 to become the runner-up. Japan produced highly competitive teams in the late 1960's and the 1970's as its women were winning Uber Cup championships. Both its men and its women have fallen back since. India nearly reached the final twice in the 1950's. Despite some fine individual players it has lacked the depth, particularly in doubles, to seriously contend for the Cup. In Europe, England and Sweden have usually joined Denmark in advancing to the final phase of Thomas Cup competition since 1984. England, traditionally more successful in women's play than in men's, had its best showing in 1984 with a third place finish. Sweden, whose greatest badminton success spanned from the late 1960's to the mid 1980's, has yet to advance to the semifinal round of Thomas Cup's final phase.

Below is the list of seven nations that have finished in the top two in Thomas Cup.

Team	Champions	Runners-up
Indonesia	13 (1958, 1961*, 1964, 1970, 1973*, 1976, 1979*, 1984, 1994*, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002)	5 (1967*, 1982, 1986*, 1992, 2010)
China	9 (1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012*)	2 (1984, 2000)
Malaysia**	5 (1949, 1952, 1955, 1967, 1992* )	8 (1958, 1970*, 1976, 1988*, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)
Denmark		8 (1949, 1955, 1964, 1973, 1979, 1996, 2004, 2006)
Korea		2 (2008, 2012)
Thailand		1 (1961)
United States		1 (1952)

* = host

** = including Malaya

Team appearances at the final stages[link]

The map shows countries that have qualified at least once for the Thomas Cup finale.

As of the 2012 championship twenty-four teams have advanced to the final venue over the history of the Thomas Cup competition. Among them Denmark has reached this final stage in all twenty-six competitions (and without ever receiving a bye to it). Indonesia and China have also advanced to the final stage in each competition that they have entered. Geographically, nine Asian nations have qualified to play at the final venue. Eight European nations have done so. The United States, Canada and Peru are the only Pan American teams to have reached this stage, and New Zealand and Australia, as one might expect, have been the only teams to represent Oceania. South Africa and Nigeria have qualified from the African zone.

Below is the list of teams that have appeared in the final stage of Thomas Cup as of the 2012 tournament.

References and footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• BWF: Thomas Cup

v t e International badminton BWF Thomas Cup Uber Cup Sudirman Cup World Championships World Junior Championships World Cup World Grand Prix (defunct) Olympics Teams Africa BCA – African Championships Asia BAC – Asia Championships Europe BE – European Championships Oceania BO – Oceania Championships Americas BPA – Pan Am Championships Regional games All-Africa Games Asian Games Commonwealth Games East Asian Games Island Games Pan Arab Games Pan American Games Southeast Asian Games

Kenneth Jonassen
Personal information
Born	(1974-07-03) July 3, 1974 (age 37) Herning
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	81 kg (180 lb; 12.8 st)
Country	Denmark
Handedness	Right
Men singles
Highest Ranking	2 (April 14, 2005[1])
BWF Profile

Kenneth Jonassen (born July 3, 1974 in Herning) is a male badminton player from Denmark, who formerly had the fastest smash record in the singles competition, with a 298 km/h (185 mph) shot.^[2] This record was broken by Taufik Hidayat.

He played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, losing in the round of 32 to Chen Hong of China.

Kenneth was the losing finalist in the [2006 Singapore Open|Aviva Open Singapore 2006], losing 21-14, 21-10 to compatriot Peter Gade, after having won that tournament in 2004.

He won the gold medal at the 2008 European Badminton Championships.^[3]

Major achievements[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• BWF Profile

This biographical article relating to Danish badminton is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Taufik Hidayat
Personal information
Born	(1981-08-10) August 10, 1981 (age 30) Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	65 kg (140 lb; 10.2 st)
Country	Indonesia
Handedness	Right
Coach	Mulyo Handoyo
Men's singles
Highest Ranking	1 (2000)
Current Ranking	11 (March 23, 2012[1])
Medal record Competitor for  Indonesia Men's badminton Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Men's singles World Championships Gold 2005 Anaheim Men's singles Silver 2010 Paris Men's singles Bronze 2009 Hyderabad Men's singles Bronze 2001 Seville Men's singles Asian Games Gold 2006 Doha Men's singles Gold 2002 Busan Men's singles Silver 2002 Busan Team Bronze 2010 Guangzhou Team Bronze 2006 Doha Team Thomas Cup Gold 2002 Guangzhou Team Gold 2000 Kuala Lumpur Team
BWF Profile

Taufik Hidayat (born August 10, 1981 in Bandung, West Java) is an Indonesian badminton player. He is a former World and Olympic champion in men's singles. He has also won the Indonesian Open six times (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006).^[2]

When he was young, he joined the SGS Club, a badminton club in Bandung, where he trained under Iie Sumirat.

Hidayat won the men's singles competition in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In August 2005, he won the men's singles competition at the IBF World Championships. He also won the gold medal at the Asian Games twice, at Busan in 2002 and Doha in 2006.

Popular media has at times focused on the perceived rivalry between Hidayat and Chinese player Lin Dan, referring to the two as "arch rivals".^[3][4][5]

Player attributes[link]

Hidayat's main qualities are his backhand (as he is perhaps most famous for his backhand smash, revered for its unusually high generation of power), forehand jump smash, drop shot (reverse slice in particular), smooth footwork and deceiving net play. Hidayat's forehand jump smash in the 2006 world championships is currently the fastest smash recorded in single's competition: he recorded a 305 km/h in a match against Ng Wei.

This overwhelming power on both his forehand and backhand, combined with his tenacity at the net and scope for deceptive shots, provide him with an extremely diverse weaponry on court, making him one of the most difficult players to face on the open circuit. Criticisms are in his lack of fitness, impatience with loud crowds and his propensity to return a net shot with a net shot, even though his opponent is dangerously close to the net.

Participation in the Indonesian team[link]

• 5 times at Sudirman Cup (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007)
• 6 times at Thomas Cup (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)
• 3 times at Summer Olympics at individual event (2000, 2004, 2008)

Achievements[link]

Career finals (25 titles, 15 runner-ups)[link]

Outcome	Year	Tournament	Opponent in final	Score
Winner	2011	India Open Grand Prix Gold	Sourabh Varma	21-15, 21-18
Runner-up	2011	Malaysia Open	Lee Chong Wei	8-21, 17-21
Runner-up	2010	Hong Kong Open	Lee Chong Wei	19-21, 9-21
Winner	2010	French Open	Joachim Persson	21-16, 21-11
Runner-up	2010	Denmark Open	Jan Ø. Jørgensen	19-21, 19-21
Winner	2010	Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold	Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka	26-28, 21-17, 21-14
Runner-up	2010	World Championships	Chen Jin	13-21, 15-21
Winner	2010	Canadian Open	Brice Leverdez	21-15, 21-11
Runner-up	2010	Indonesia Open	Lee Chong Wei	19-21, 8-21
Runner-up	2009	French Open	Lin Dan	6-21, 15-21
Runner-up	2009	Japan Open	Bao Chunlai	15-21, 12-21
Winner	2009	U.S. Open	Hsueh Hsuan-Yi	21-15, 21-16
Runner-up	2009	Indonesia Open	Lee Chong Wei	9-21, 14-21
Winner	2009	India Open	Muhammad Hafiz Hashim	21-18, 21-19
Runner-up	2008	French Open	Peter Gade	21-16, 17-21, 7-21
Winner	2008	Macau Open	Lee Chong Wei	21-19, 21-15
Winner	2007	SEA Games (2)	Lee Yen Hui Kendrick	21-15, 21-9
Runner-up	2007	Macau Open	Chen Jin	21-19, 17-21, 18-21
Runner-up	2007	Chinese Taipei Open	Sony Dwi Kuncoro	21-18, 6-21, 13-21
Runner-up	2007	Japan Open	Lee Chong Wei	20-22, 21-19, 19-21
Winner	2007	Badminton Asia Championships (3)	Chen Hong	21-18, 21-19
Winner	2006	Asian Games (2)	Lin Dan	21-15, 22-20
Runner-up	2006	Japan Open	Lin Dan	21-16, 16-21, 3-21
Winner	2006	Indonesia Open (6)	Bao Chunlai	21-18, 21-17
Winner	2005	World Championships	Lin Dan	15-3, 15-7
Winner	2005	Singapore Open (2)	Chen Hong	15-9, 15-3
Winner	2004	Olympic Games	Shon Seung-mo	15-8, 15-7
Winner	2004	Indonesia Open (5)	Chen Hong	15-10, 15-11
Winner	2004	Badminton Asia Championships (2)	Sony Dwi Kuncoro	15-12, 7-15, 15-6
Winner	2003	Indonesia Open (4)	Chen Hong	15-9, 15-9
Winner	2002	Asian Games (1)	Lee Hyun-il	15-7, 15-9
Winner	2002	Indonesia Open (3)	Chen Hong	15-12, 15-12
Winner	2001	Singapore Open (1)	Wong Choong Hann	7-5, 0-7, 7-1, 1-7, 7-4
Winner	2000	Indonesia Open (2)	Ong Ewe Hock	15-5, 15-13
Winner	2000	Badminton Asia Championships (1)	Rony Agustinus	14-17, 15-2, 15-3
Runner-up	2000	All England Open	Xia Xuanze	6-15, 13-15
Winner	2000	Malaysia Open	Xia Xuanze	15-10, 17-14
Winner	1999	SEA Games (1)	Wong Choong Hann	15-10, 11-15, 15-11
Winner	1999	Indonesia Open (1)	Budi Santoso	17-14, 15-12
Runner-up	1999	All England Open	Peter Gade	11-15, 15-7, 10-15

Record Against Selected Opponents[link]

Includes results from all competitions 2000–present.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Taufik Hidayat, The Official Taufik Hidayat Website
• Taufik Hidayat, #48 on Time’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"
• sports-reference.com
• tournamentsoftware.com

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