KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — National badminton great Datuk Lee Chong Wei has urged former Indonesian badminton champion Taufik Hidayat to seek clarification from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) over his recent induction into the BWF Hall of Fame.
Speaking to Bernama, Lee admitted that he was unhappy and surprised by Taufik’s statement which seemed to indicate his disagreement over the selection, which was something decided by the BWF and not at Lee’s behest.
He said that Taufik’s comment was like an attack on him after he was inducted.
“I did not ask the BWF to list me and I did not write a letter to the BWF, I myself did not know about the induction. Maybe there is a requirement for selection, and there are other Malaysian players who were inducted into the Hall of Fame who have never won an Olympic (gold medal).
“Taufik should ask the BWF, write a letter or email, ask them why I received the honour and not him, maybe he is not happy because he did not get it,” Lee told Bernama today.
He also hopes BWF will issue a statement clarifying the matter to Taufik as to why he and Lin Dan were selected to be inducted into the BWF Hall of Fame.
Both players were inducted into the Hall of Fame on May 26 to recognise their success and contributions to the sport of badminton, as they were the two most dominant players during their era.
Lee was world number one for 349 weeks, and won three silver Olympic medals, in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, but never won the gold.
A recent video by Taufik doubting Lee’s qualifications relating to his induction had gone viral recently, in which he admitted that Lin Dan was more qualified and questioned why Lee was included.
“In competition, what is taken into account is who is champion, not who is most (consistent). Also, it is not about who is longest in the number one spot. Between winning 10 silver and only one gold, which would you choose?” Taufik said in the video.
Lee also advised his fans to remain calm over Taufik’s comments and asked them not to contribute to the controversy on social media.
— Bernama
