ONE has written his autobiography. The other is producing a documentary about his life on court. The two great rivals of men’s badminton are also busy embellishing their legends at the Super Series Masters Finals here.
Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan showed that they are not only old time rivals on the court but equally competitive in the promotion of the sport that they love by telling their life stories to inspire the younger generation.
Yesterday, top seed Chong Wei and four-time world champion Lin Dan spoke of their promotional activities after underlining their supremacy to march into the semi-finals of the Masters Finals as the Group A and Group B champions respectively at the Li Ning Gymnasium.
Chong Wei will take on Chen Long of China today while Lin Dan will cross swords with old warrior Peter-Gade Christensen of Denmark in another top four battle.
Yesterday, Chong Wei, who had already qualified for the semis, made the mistake of taking it easy before prevailing 24-22, 21-14 over the 35-year-old Christensen in a 33-minute final Group A match.
The Malaysian had started off superbly by taking a 11-4 lead before deciding to take his feet off the pedal. It was a big mistake as the Dane took advantage and managed to level the tie at 16-16 and kept pressing before losing 22-24.
Christensen was a spent force in the second and Chong Wei did his usual thing to restore order and romp home.
Chong Wei was happy to stay on track in his mission to win the Masters Finals title for the fourth time.
”I eased up after taking a huge lead and Peter almost turned the tables on me. Fortunately, I hung on. I take on Chen Long next and it will not be easy,” said Chong Wei.
”The youngster is playing well. He has the height, an aggressive approach and a good physique. I will have to deal with him patiently if I harbour hopes of making the final.” said Chong Wei, 29.
The Malaysian ace lost to Chen Long in the Japan and Denmark Opens this year before he got his revenge at the France Open.
On his autobiography “Dare To Become A Champion” which will be launched on Jan 18, Chong Wei said: “The book is about the hardship I went through as a player. Hopefully, it will generate more interest among the youngsters.
“I heard that Lin Dan is coming out with a documentary about himself.
“This is good for the sport. It’s another way for us to tell our stories and get more youngsters into the game.”
Lin Dan, who tore apart Japan’s Kenichi Tago 21-11, 21-13 yesterday, was passionate about his new documentary.
”I have been with the national team for about 11 to 12 years and would like to document my journey. I treasure all the memories and want to record all my excellent matches with Chong Wei, Taufik (Hidayat) and Peter in this documentary,” he said.
”The idea was given to me after I won my fourth world title in August. Hopefully, I can produce it before I retire. This will be a gift for my fans. As I get older, I can also look back at all these good memories.”
On his 18th career match against Christensen today, Lin Dan joked: “I seem to be spending more time with Peter, Chong Wei and Taufik than my wife (Xie Xingfang). I meet them so often in the international stage.”
