Although Malaysians and observers described the Penang-born’s achievement as a great blow to national badminton, former world No 1 Chong Wei said our players should not be ashamed and can emulate the spirit of Kean Yew, who achieved the feat in Huelva, Spain.
“Kean Yew’s win is a good example for our players … he is not from a top badminton country but became the world champion,” he said.
Kean Yew, ranked 22nd in the world, clinched the world title after beating India’s K Srikanth 21-15, 22-20 in the final.
It also saw Kean Yew, 22, emerge the first Singaporean to win the title while no Malaysian shuttler has been able to do so thus far.
Only Chong Wei has reached the final of the prestigious tournament but he finished runner-up at three editions (2011, 2013 and 2015).
Chong Wei said the national players, especially Lee Zii Jia, had a great opportunity to win in Spain due to the absence of several stars from Indonesia, Japan and China.
However, it was unfortunate that Zii Jia, who is also the All England champion, had to retire in the quarterfinals on Friday due to an injury.
Despite winning the first game 21-12 over Anders Antonsen of Denmark, Zii Jia lost 21-8 in the second when a severe blister on his right leg affected his performance. He decided to retire in the rubber game when Antonsen was leading 11-1.
“Hopefully Zii Jia will remain focused, regain confidence and keep up the spirit,” said Chong Wei, a three-time Olympic silver medallist.
Meanwhile, former national men’s singles player Roslin Hashim considered the participation of Kean Yew for Singapore as a loss to national badminton.
Kean Yew was born and picked up his first racquet in Penang before the Singapore Badminton Association offered him a scholarship to the Singapore Sports School when he was 12.
“It’s not the time to blame anyone … maybe it’s what he wanted because Singapore gave scholarships and Kean Yew took the opportunity,” he said.
Roslin also called on the Badminton Association of Malaysia to open their eyes to Kean Yew’s success for the direction and glory of the sport in the future.
At the annual tournament, only the professional men’s pair of Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi won a medal – bronze – after losing to world No 4 Japanese duo Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi 21-12, 21-9 in the semifinals.