Lee Chong Wei Clinched The Malaysia Open Title For A Historic 12th Time
The Malaysian badminton player is 12 years older than his Japanese opponent.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 02 Jul 2018, 04:14 PM
Yesterday, 1 July, Lee Chong Wei won his 12th Malaysia Open title at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur
After overcoming Japan's Kento Momota 21-17, 23-21 in the men's singles final, the badminton veteran dropped to the floor.
By winning the game, Chong Wei also ended his opponent's 21-match winning streak, New Straits Times reported.
Chong Wei pocketed US$49,000 (RM198,000) from the tournament, while Momota received US$23,800 (RM96,000).
"Sometimes, luck is very important," said Chong Wei, who revealed that a challenge on the final point made all the difference for him
"When Momota took the lead in the second game, I told myself it would be trouble for me in the rubber. In terms of fitness, he was at an advantage," said the 36-year-old, who is 12 years Momota's senior.
"That challenge was 50-50, I had to call it. I still had two challenges, and if it was unsuccessful, I was still in the game, so I had to call it. After that I didn't know what happened," he admitted.
"Even though he is 12 years older than I am, he is still very strong and I have a lot of respect for him," said Momota, adding that, "To me, people like Chong Wei still dominate the game and I hope to one day be like that."
The badminton veteran acknowledged that playing in front of home fans was "not easy," especially since he was the only Malaysian men's singles to qualify
Lee Chong Wei with his sons Kingston Lee and Terrence Lee during the Malaysia Open badminton tournament awards ceremony on 1 July.
Image via AFP"My motivation will always be my family as well as the people of Malaysia, who have always stood by me. I now hope to go on and achieve greater success, especially in the World Championships (Nanjing, China) and the Asian Games (Indonesia)," he said.
On his hopes of winning the title at the Indonesia Open for the seventh time, Chong Wei said that, "I can't promise anything, but I will do my best because it's nice to set records," according to New Straits Times.