Lee Chong Wei Crowned Men’s Singles Title the fifth time in Hong Kong Open

Malaysian ace Lee Chong Wei tied Lin Dan’s record by winning his fifth Men’s Singles title in YONEX-SUNRISE 2017 Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships after beating China’s Chen Long in straight games 21:14, 21:19 and revenged his lost in the Olympics. Lee promised the fans to come back next year.

The Men’s Singles final between Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long started at 6pm tonight was a replica of last year’s Olympics final. It has attracted 6000 spectators. The two players both were absence in last year’s Hong Kong Open. Lee, the 4-time title winner, obviously has more fans than Chen. Spectators were shouting ‘Lee Chong Wei’ long before he marched into the Coliseum.

With the fans’ support, Lee took the first game by 21:14 without hesitation. After they changed side, Chen reverted and had a 14:9 lead. Lee tied it by 15:15 and advanced to 18:16. Chen smashed his chance on the net twice when the score was 19:19. Lee finally took the second game by 21: 19. After the final, Lee was interviewed by the host on the court. When he said ‘See you next year!’ fans responded with a big round of applause.

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The final was described as a revenge match for the Olympics by the media. Lee said, ‘My pressure in this match was less than the Olympics. I didn’t see it as a revenge.’ The 35 year-old player has defeated a lot of young player in the Hong Kong Open. He said, ‘Age is just a number. To compete physical strength with younger players, I will definitely lose. No one expects me winning the Hong Kong Open at the age of 35. However, I stick to it and worked hard for it. After August, I haven’t played a good match. People say I lost a lot of matches, I am old and should be retired. I was upset but I also take it as a motivation. Reporters always ask me if I will play until 2020. I really want to but I am not sure if my body can handle it. Old player always suffers by injury. Therefore, I am grateful to the national team for helping me to recover. I would definitely love to come back Hong Kong next year!’

Prize presented by Madam Khunying Patama Leeswadrakul, Member of International Olympic Committee Council, Member of Badminton World Federation, Dr. Tong Yun Kai, SBS MBE DBA, President, the Hong Kong Badminton Association, Mr Paul Chan Mo-po, GBM, GBS, MH, JP, Financial Secretary, Mr. D.K. Seth, Managing Director, Sunrise & Company Private Limited and Mr. Lee Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of Hong Kong Limited.

In Women’s Doubles Final, China’s Chen Qingchen/ Jia Yifan have a great comeback beating the Indonesian pair Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu by 14:21, 21:16, 21:15 and regained the title for China after one year. This is also their second title after China Open. The two express their gratitude to the Hong Kong fans in Cantonese. They said, ‘The good results included the World Championships’ title motivate us to go further. We hope to bring more great matches to the fans.’

Winners of YONEX-SUNRISE 2017 Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships:
Men’s Singles: Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia)
Women’s Singles: Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)
Men’s Doubles: Marcus Fernaldi GIDEON/Kevin Sanjaya SUKAMULJO (Indonesia)
Women’s Doubles: Chen Qingchen/ Jia Yifan (China)
Mixed Doubles: Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong (China)