But Chong Wei is not one to throw in the towel without a fight. And, for the first time since the injury, he has spoken about his determination to prevail despite the pain and uncertainty he faces in the weeks ahead of the London Games. He said the first task was to get back on his feet and start the rigorous training. But he admitted that the slow pace of the recovery is causing him endless worries.
Chong Wei suffered the injury during the match against Denmark’s Peter Gade Christensen and scans showed that the 29-year-old had a partially torn ligament in his ankle.
There were fears then that Chong Wei would miss the Olympics but this proved unfounded although his preparations were seriously disrupted.
“It’s been tough spending 12 hours daily, from 7am till 7pm, on my rehabilitation. A lot depends on getting back to my old form and that means extra hard training,” he said.
“I’m on court at 7.30 in the morning for light training before going for physiotherapy. Then I have aqua-therapy to work on my upper body strength. I also do gym work later in the evening. This has been my daily routine since the injury.
“Maintaining my fitness under these conditions is tough but there’s no short cut and the thought that I won’t be able to fight for the gold medal drives me on,” he said.
Chong Wei was a silver medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he knows that nothing short of 100% fitness will do if he is to go one better in London where he will be up against a trio of China’s best.
Chong Wei said many have asked if he would be fit enough to shoulder the challenge.
“At times I’m not able to answer as it all depends on how fast the ankle heals. I have avoided making any statements so as not to give false hopes. But the prayers and well wishes of the fans and people from all walks of life drive me on.”
- THE STAR
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