Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei has early-stage nose cancer and is being treated in Taiwan, Malaysian sports officials said yesterday, following weeks of speculation about his health.
The country’s most successful Olympian ever, who enjoys superstar status in his homeland, was responding well to treatment, they said.
However, the illness would nevertheless be a devastating blow for the 35-year-old, coming after he clawed his way back up the rankings following a doping ban to play some of the best badminton of his life.
Speculation had been swirling about his health since he stopped turning up for training in July, and the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) announced that he was pulling out of the BWF World Championships and the Asian Games in Indonesia.
Subsequent reports said the three-time Olympic silver medalist had traveled to Taiwan for treatment, but officials remained tight-lipped about his condition.
In a statement yesterday, BAM president Norza Zakaria said that “the player has been diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer.”
“[Lee] is currently in Taiwan seeking treatment and I am pleased to inform you that he is responding well to his treatment, and is currently resting and recuperating among family and close friends,” Zakaria said. “BAM is in constant contact with [Lee] and we will offer any support we can to our legend.”
Missing the World Championships in July and last month was a particular blow for the former world No. 1, as the tournament’s top honor is one of the major awards missing from his trophy cabinet.
Badminton is hugely popular in Malaysia and one of the few sports where the country’s athletes perform well at the highest levels.
Lee’s unsuccessful attempts to capture Malaysia’s first-ever Olympic gold medal at three consecutive Games were followed avidly back home, as was his long-running rivalry with Chinese superstar Lin Dan.
His last shot at Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games ended in failure when the Malaysian lost out to China’s Chen Long in a nail-biting final.
Lee, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, had said Rio would be his last Olympics.
He had fought his way back to the top of the rankings after returning from a doping ban in 2015.
He tested positive for a forbidden anti-inflammatory drug at the 2014 World Championships and many feared it would end his career, but he bounced back strongly.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS