Why Malaysia can’t replace Chong Wei | Timesport On The Beat

Why Malaysia can’t replace Chong Wei | Timesport On The Beat

From Timesport On The Beat by Audio+

February 5, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the decline of Malaysia's men's badminton singles since Lee Chong Wei's retirement and the challenges faced in finding a successor.

WHAT has led to the decline in Malaysia’s men’s badminton singles? Since Lee Chong Wei’s retirement, we have no one really capable of carrying the torch in this department. Lee Zii Jia did show some promise but the former All England champion is now a pale shadow of his former self, and no one else has been able to step up to the breach. Chong Wei Feng, who is a former SEA Games champion and member of the 2014 silver-winning Thomas Cup squad, discusses the issue with Timesport’s K. M. Boopathy. Wei Feng also talks about the steps taken by national singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen to deal with the the situation, and BAM’s renewed focus on junior development.

People in this episode

Host: K. M. Boopathy

Guest: Chong Wei Feng

Topics covered

  • badminton
  • sports decline
  • athlete development
  • coaching
  • Malaysia sports

Keywords

  • badminton
  • Lee Chong Wei
  • Lee Zii Jia
  • Chong Wei Feng
  • Kenneth Jonassen
  • BAM
  • sports development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BAM

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