Kuala Lumpur: Having lost twice to Chen Long this year, Lee Chong Wei’s coach Hendrawan vowed to turn things around this time with the Malaysian badminton maestro set to meet world No. 1 Chen Long in the quarter-finals of Denmark Open and probably semi-finals of the French Open.
Hendrawan said patience will be key for Lee to turn his head-to-head record with Chen Long in his favor.
“Should Chong Wei meet Chen Long in the tournament, we will adapt variety of playing styles into his games,” said Hendrawan.
If Lee wants to get the better of Chen Long, Hendrawan acknowledged that the former world No. 1 has to emerge as the toughest player on his European tour – both physically and mentally.
“Chong Wei’s speed, power and attacking play give him a significant advantage over other players, but he must diversify his games when he plays against Chen Long, plan to engage in rallies, executing attacks, speed, being both physical and mentally tougher, and most importantly patience,” added Hendrawan.
However, Hendrawan caution everyone to not look too far ahead, they will still have to take it one game at a time.
“Chong Wei will have to fend off Parupalli Kashyap in his Denmark opener, and probably Hu Yun of Hong Kong in the second round before meeting Chen Long in the quarter-finals. These are players that capable of delivering an upset, we should always pay serious attention to them.”
At Denmark Open, other men’s singles shuttlers such as No. 2 seed Jan O Jorgensen, No. 4 seed Kento Momota, Kidambi Srikanth and Chou Tien Chen are on the other side of the draw.
