LEE CHONG WEI (Malaysia)



Hot on the trail of his victory in the Indonesia Super
Series last May, Lee will be a marked man in the Bingo
Bonanza Philippine Open.

Turning 25 on October 21, Lee,
noted forehand crosscourt smashes and incredible
defensive capability, reached the No. 1 ranking in the
world in Augusut 2006 but has since dropped to No. 4,
thus making him hungry for victories that would give
him a crack at reclaiming his once lofty post.

Like most of the fancied players in the RP Open, Lee
saw action the 2004 Olympics, defeating Ng Wei of Hong
Kong in the first round only to falter against Chen
Hong of China in the last 16 stage. Lee had not lost
to a fellow Malaysian for three years until the
recently conceded the Korean Open title to Roslin
Hashim. In 2005 he bagged his first five-star event in
the Danish Open. He also successfully defended his
Malaysian Open and bagged a bronze in the World
Championships.

Lee currently holds an unbeaten record in all
tournaments held inside Malaysian territory since
2004. He has won the Malaysia Open for three
consecutive years, including 2006 considered as one of
the greatest comebacks in badminton history, where he
fought from 13-20 down and saved 8 gold medal points
from 2006 world champion Lin Dan, to finally wrap up
the match with 23-21. In 2005, he beat the Olympic
champion Taufik Hidayat and Lin Dan en route to the title.