World no 1 Wei says he will return to defend the super series badminton title he won in the capital yesterday
World no 1 Wei says he will return to defend the super series badminton title he won in the capital yesterday
World No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia said he is thrilled to become the first men's singles champion at the India Open Super Series badminton yesterday ufffd and will return to defend his title next year.
Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia returns a shot against Peter Gade of
Denmark in the men's singles final of the India Open Super Series in
New Delhi yesterday. PIC/AFP
Lee overcame stiff resistance from Denmark's veteran Peter Gade 21-12, 12-21, 21-15 to win the inauguralu00a0 USD 200,000 tournament.
"I'm happy to win the inaugural India Open Super Series. It was a tough match," said Lee. "It was a great tournament and I will be happy to come back and defend my title next year."
Asked about the crowd supporting Gade, Lee said: "I'm used to it. I play all over the world, in China etc. Sometimes you get the backing of the crowd, sometimes you don't."
The Malaysian was all praise for the 34-year-old Gade. "I have a great respect for him (Gade). He is a fighter and at 34 he is still fighting on the court. I don't know what I will be doing at 34," said Lee.
Gade said he lost to the best player in the world. "He is unbeatable at the moment. I am happy that if I can take a game against him and that too 21-12, it shows that I am still good," said Gade.
"I gave my best. He has tremendous confidence which is difficult to break. But he was shaken when I was leading in the third game. The momentum was with me. But then I gave some easy point. There was a long rally in which I thought he snatched the momentum.
"I cannot play too much of an attacking game because he can counter attack. So, I have to strike a fine balance. The game is changing all the time and you have to take the right decisions. One wrong stroke and you will be punished," he added.
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