Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s badminton legend – Lee Chong Wei has decided not to go to Tokyo as chef de mission for Malaysia’s Tokyo Olympic team due to health reasons.
“I have decided not to travel to Tokyo as my health and well-being are a priority,” said Lee Chong Wei to Malaysian media, FMT.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) selected Lee Chong Wei as the Malaysian contingent’s chef de mission (CDM) for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on June 15, 2019, few days after Lee announced his retirement from professional badminton on June 13, 2019, after successful treatment for early-stage nose cancer.
“The Covid-19 mutations present an obvious risk to my health. I apologize to the athletes and the authorities but I waited a while hoping things could improve before making this tough decision in these unprecedented times,” explained Lee.
Lee will meet with the president of OCM, Tan Sri Norza Zakaria to discuss whether he would remain as the team’s CDM, so that he could still encourage and motivate athletes via online channels, or if OCM would find another person to replace him in Tokyo.
“It’s not official yet. Let me have a discussion with the president first in the coming few days,” added Lee.
On Friday, it was reported that two Ugandan Olympic athletes were tested positive for COVID’s Delta variant after arriving in Japan.
As of Thursday, Japan has had 789,406 total confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 14,553 deaths resulted from the pandemic. Only about 8% of the country was fully vaccinated, and about 18% of the total population have received at least one shot.
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