A screenshot of Lin’s Weibo page yesterday following Chong Wei’s retirement announcement.
KUCHING: Former World No. 1 Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s announcement yesterday that he was retiring from professional badminton after an illustrious 19-year career saw tributes pouring in from across the world, including one from long-time rival and friend Lin Dan.
Though not specifically mentioning Chong Wei, the two-time Olympic gold medalist posted a brief message on his Weibo microblogging site and also shared a Mandarin song – both believed to be in reaction to Chong Wei’s announcement.
The song shared was titled ‘Don’t Cry, Friend’ and came with the accompanying message ‘Heading for the battle alone, with a companion no more’.
The Chong Wei-Lin Dan rivalry, widely regarded as the greatest of all time, saw both compete against each other in numerous tournament finals – Olympics, All England, World Championships amongst them.
Off the court, the two friends also share many things in common in that both married fellow badminton professionals – Chong Wei to Wong Mew Choo in 2012 and Lin to Xie Xingfang later the same year – as well as a passion for fast cars and watches.
In an emotional announcement in Putrajaya yesterday, Chong Wei said his decision to retire was ‘tough’ but that he had to follow the advice of doctors to not involve himself in high-intensity activities.
He was diagnosed with nose cancer in July last year after the Indonesian Open.
In total, he was won 69 titles in his career, and was World No. 1 for a total of 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 2008 to 2012.