Chong Wei is still fit to battle on - Frost
Bernama
April 14, 2015 02:53 MYT
April 14, 2015 02:53 MYT
National shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei - File pic
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten Frost Hansen believes Datuk Lee Chong Wei is 'fit' to continue his winning streak once the shuttler returns to the court.
"He is obviously not under pressure of playing tournaments but he is definitely fit," he told reporters when met during a training session at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara, here Monday.
However, Frost said the hurdle for the ace shuttler to pave his path for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil would be the dateline for major upcoming tournaments.
"The dateline for the Australian Open is tomorrow, Indonesian Open is next week (April 21), so the longer the BWF panel takes to make a decision, the more datelines are missed.
"So we hope there will be a good decision soon," he said.
Chong Wei, who just returned to Malaysia after a doping hearing before a three-man independent panel from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Saturday in Amsterdam, Netherlands said he will start training on Tuesday.
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The 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games silver medallist was suspended by the BWF after testing positive for dexamethasone, a banned substance, at the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark last August.
The panel's decision is expected to be announced in three weeks, a decision that will determine the future of the former world number one.
Meanwhile, according to the BWF official website, 34 individual quota places will be allocated for the men's singles category, from the top ranked shuttlers by May 5, next year.
Ranking aside, to be eligible to participate in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, all players must have played in a minimum of three tournaments in singles counting towards the world ranking lists during the Olympic qualifying period which is May 4, 2015 to May 1, 2016.
Among the tournaments are Thomas and Uber Cup, Sudirman Cup, World Championships, Super Series, Grand Prix Gold, Grand Prix, International Challenge and any other international event sanctioned by the BWF as being part of the world ranking lists.