KUCHING: Former world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei and 1,000 of his loyal fans are expected to attend the quarter-finals of the Yonex Sunrise Malaysia Masters today.
This was announced by Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) secretary Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir yesterday.
According to Hadi, the event is specially organised in conjunction with Lee’s visit to Kuching where he will be attending the matches to support the national team members competing against others from 15 countries.
“The group’s presence at the stadium augurs well for the competitors’ morale particularly the Malaysian players because they will be further motivated to do well in the exciting event,” Hadi said.
Meanwhile, Indian national coach Madhumita Bishit was upbeat about the chances of her players who had defeated their opponents in straight sets so far.
“We are optimistic for our players to qualify among the top four in the tournament and they have played very well today,” she said.
She also revealed that India’s top men’s singles player Srikanh Kidambi, who is also world No. 4, was unable to compete here due to the hectic schedule as he had to prepare for the coming India Open as well as the national championship.
“Srikanh had played in so many competitions of late and he had not enough time to rest,” the coach said of the player who upset China’s Lin Dan in last year’s China Open.