Chong Wei gives back with Cup of his own

KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Chong Wei, long-time rival of Lin Dan, now has a tournament bearing his name, but with a unique mission. The Lee Chong Wei Cup kicks off at Juara Stadium, Bukit Kiara today, marking the three-time Olympic silver medallist's first attempt at tournament organization and a new platform for giving back to Malaysian badminton.

While Lin Dan's tournament in China has evolved into a lucrative open competition, Chong Wei has opted to kickstart his event at the junior level. The nine-day competition will feature Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 players, but Chong Wei hopes to offer more than just another age-group meet. With the support of a strong group of corporate sponsors, the organizers aim to provide junior players with a high-level tournament experience typically reserved for senior players.

Every match will be livestreamed on the tournament's official website, and the final three days will also be broadcast on Astro, shining a spotlight on the younger generation. The tournament boasts RM100,000 in total prize money, with each Under-17 boys and girls singles champion receiving RM5,000—a substantial reward for teenagers and an incentive to elevate the level of competition.

Perhaps most importantly, the format allows for players outside the national and state training systems to showcase their talents. Open-registration players will begin in qualifying, with the top 32 advancing to a 64-player Grand Finals draw, where they'll compete alongside 32 pre-selected state players. This creates the potential for an unknown club, academy, or independent player to disrupt the established order—an opportunity Chong Wei had in mind when he conceived the tournament.

The timing is particularly significant after France's recent success at the World Championships, with 21-year-old Alex Lanier becoming the nation's first men's singles world champion, and Thom Gicquel-Delrue adding the mixed doubles title. Malaysia, despite its proud badminton tradition, has yet to produce a men's singles world champion.

Chong Wei's vision for the event is to create a "mini Malaysian Open" for juniors and use it as an additional platform for senior and junior national coaches to identify promising players. When he was young, Chong Wei lamented the lack of junior tournaments to play in, a situation that remains largely unchanged today. "That's why I want to organize more junior tournaments to give juniors a chance to prove themselves," he said when launching the event. "It's also my way of giving back to the country."