If you ask any badminton fan to name the top Men’s Singles badminton players, Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei will be there on the list, know his net worth, biography and ranking
To everyone’s upset, the former World No. 1 retired from professional badminton in 2019.
Let us know about the success story of Lee Chong Wei, his early life, his journey towards being the Men’s Singles World No. 1 in badminton, achievements, net worth and his retirement.
Early Life Of Lee Chong Wei, Biography, Family, Wife, And Life Story, Net Worth, Ranking
Lee Chong Wei was born on October 21, 1982, in Bagan Serai, Perak, Malaysia, to Lee Ah Chai and Khor Kim Choi. Lee Chong Wei hails into a Malaysian-Chinese family. Lee was interested in basketball initially, but he quit playing basketball after his mom restricted him from the game because of the temperature at the court. His father Ah Chai used to work as a salesman and was also a singer.
Lee started playing badminton when he was 11 years old. His father brought him to a badminton court and thus the journey started. He then started preparing for badminton matches after school under the guidance of Teh Peng Huat. In 2000, Lee was selected in the national team by Misbun Sidek. Lee was 17 at that time.
Badminton Career, Achievements, Awards, Medals, Wins
2002-03: Lee was unable to perform well in these two years. Lee won just a single minor title in Men’s singles. Lee Chong Wei was defeated by Chen Hong of China when he played his first final in the 2003 Malaysia Open.
2004: Lee Chong Wei won the Malaysia Open and the Chinese Taipei Open titles in 2004. Lee was also selected for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In his first Olympic appearance, Lee dominated the first round by winning against Honk Kong’s Ng Wei. His Olympic experience ceased when Lee lost to China’s Chen Hong in the second round.
2005: Lee won the Malaysia Open title and the Denmark Open titles in 2005. Lee then participated in the World Championships 2005 and won a maiden bronze medal as he lost to Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat.
2006: Lee won the Swiss Open, Asian Badminton Championships, and Malaysia Open titles in 2006. Apart from that, Lee was a finalist at the Chinese Taipei Open, Macau Open, and Hong Kong Open. Lee also won two gold medals for Malaysia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games as he dominated the men’s singles and the Mixed Doubles. Lee Chong Wei became the BWF World No. 1 in 2006.
2007: Lee won the Philippines Open, the Japan Open, and the French Open in the second half of 2007. He likewise was the finalist at the 2007 China Open and Hong Kong Open, regardless of his knee injury.
2008: Lee commenced his 2008 journey by winning his fourth Malaysia Open title in five years. In the 2008 Olympics, Lee was given a bye in the first round. Lee crushed every opponent in the following rounds to reach the finals, where he was defeated by Lin Dan 12–21, 8–21 securing second place.
Lee had to face consecutive defeats, media pressure, injuries, and the stress of being the World No. 1. Despite all this, he won the National Badminton Grand Prix Final in Kedah on 12 December 2008 for the seventh consecutive time.
2009: Lee Chong Wei began the 2009 season with his fifth Malaysia Open title win. He later won the Swiss Open defeating Lin Dan for the first time. He won the Indonesia Open and the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold in June 2009. After repetitive defeats in the second half of 2009, Lee went on to win the Hong Kong Open in November. In December, Lee won the Super Series Masters Finals title.
2010: Lee acquired his very first Korea Open crown, 6th Malaysia Open, and the All England Open in 2010. In August 2021, Lee won the Indonesia Open, Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold in July, and Macau Open.
In October, he assisted Malaysia with beating India to protect the gold award at the 2010 Commonwealth Games mixed doubles, then, he effectively safeguarded his gold medal in the singles a couple of days later. In November, he won a silver decoration at the Asian Games. He later went on to win the 2010 Hong Kong Open, and then the Super Series Masters title for the third time.
2011: In January, Lee won his seventh Malaysia Open title, and later cruised into the finals of the All England Open for the third sequential time and secured his title by defeating Lin Dan. On Labor Day, he won his very first India Open, and then his third successive Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold title.
In October, he won the French Open 2011. This was trailed by triple semi-finals exit in the Hong Kong Open, the China Open, and the Super Series Master Finals.
2012: Lee won his fifth consecutive and eighth Malaysia Open title, equalling the number of home titles held by Wong Peng Soon who won them between 1940 and 1953. In May, Lee defended his Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold title for the fourth time straight. Lee was out for four weeks due to an ankle injury a few days later.
He won the Japan Open and Denmark Open on his return. Lee later pulled out of the remaining tournaments due to a thigh injury.
2013: Lee won the Korea Open title for the third time in 2013. After a week, he got his 10th Malaysia Open title, which broke the record of eight titles recently held by Wong Peng Soon.
In April, Lee won another India Open title and the fifth Indonesia Open. After another injury crisis, Lee took the Japan Open title for the fourth time and then the Hong Kong Open. Lee won a record fourth Masters Finals title, the season finishing Super Series competition.
2014: In January, Lee recorded his 10th Malaysia Open title. Lee then moved on to win his third All England Open and India Open titles, even though he was beaten by Simon Santoso in the last of the Singapore Open. In June, he won the Japan Open for the third continuous year and fifth time in total. Due to a hamstring injury, Lee pulled out from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in July.
2015: Lee won the US Open and Canada Open back-to-back. After some defeats in the middle, Lee won the French Open, and then his first China Open title. With this win, Lee became the very first men’s singles shuttler to have won all Super Series titles. The next week, Lee won the Hong Kong Open.
2016: In January 2016, Lee won his fifth Malaysia Masters title. Then, In April, Lee won his eleventh Malaysia Open title, and then his second Badminton Asia Championships title. In June, Lee won his sixth and record-approaching Indonesia Open title, turning into the third shuttler and first non-Indonesian to win the title multiple times. He pulled out of the Australian Open because of a muscle injury. In September, Lee won his 6th Japan Open title but then pulled out of the remaining season due to injury.
2017: Lee commenced 2017 with his fourth success in the All England Open. In May, Lee won all the matches he challenged during the Sudirman Cup. In September, he lost in his 100th profession last, the Japan Open. But he later won the Hong Kong Open title, his second title of the year.
2018: Lee won his fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal in Singles in April and a silver in mixed doubles. In July 2018, won at the Malaysia Open for the twelfth title. Seven days before the World Championships, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) reported that Lee would not have the option to partake in the titles and the Asian Games as he needs to go through treatment for a respiratory-related issue.
After the treatment, it was discovered that had Lee Chong Wei was diagnosed with Stage-1 of nasopharynx cancer. He was undergoing treatment for the same in Taiwan.
Lee Chong Wei Retirement
On 13 June 2019, Lee reported his retirement after nearly 12 months since his diagnosis of Stage-1 nose cancer. The retirement went under his primary care physician’s recommendation to stay away from extreme focus preparing to keep away from a backslide of his disease. Lee Chong Wei had an out-of-the-world journey of 19 years of badminton. Individuals from the media and players the same honored him after the declaration.
Lee Chong Wei Net Worth
As of 2021, the 38-year-old warrior from Malaysia has a net worth of $16 million.
Ranking
Competing at the Men’s Singles Badminton section, Lee Chong Wei was the BWF World No. 1 for a record 349 weeks which is 2443 days. Lee also had a World No. 1 streak of 199 weeks (1393 days) from August 21, 2008, to June 14, 2012.
Achievements And Medals
In his dominant 19-year badminton career, Lee Chong Wei won 69 titles and 34 runner-up titles.
Apart from that, he received the Penang Sportsman Award 8 times, TYT Prime Award Trophy 6 times, BWF Player of the Year Award 5 times, National Sportsman Award 4 times, Olympian of the Year Award 3 times, Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM) Award 1 time, and Most Popular Icon on Television Award by RTM 1 time.
Prizes And Salary
Lee got Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 300,000 on 21 August 2008, as an award for his silver decoration exertion in the 2008 Olympic Games. Additionally, he got RM 3,000 per month as a lifetime annuity starting in August 2008. He was selected as the UNICEF Malaysia’s National Ambassador in February 2009.
On 16 March 2011, Lee got Permodalan Nasional Berhad shares worth RM100,000 from Najib Tun Razak before long his victory in the All England Open. He was named as KDU University College diplomat on 31 July 2011. Lee’s self-portrayal Dare to be a Champion was authoritatively distributed on 18 January 2012.
Biopic And Movie
In December 2017, the trailer of the biopic “Lee Chong Wei” was released. The Biopic film was released worldwide on March 15, 2018, shortly after the premiere took place. The biopic is directed by Teng Bee and is inspired by the autobiography of Lee Chong Wei, “Dare To Be A Champion.”