Malaysia's Hopeful Lee Faces Tough Battle in Olympic Badminton Quarters

Second-ranked Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia faces a tough war against Sony Dwi Kuncord from Indonesia in the men's singles badminton quarterfinals at the Beijing Olympics.

Lee eliminated Kestutis Navichas of Lithuania on Tuesday to enter the quarterfinals while Sony, third-placer at Athens Games, beat Ville Fang of Finland to sail further.

Af Tuesday's match, Lee said he played at 80 percent against Navichas as he was better than the rival.

However, he expressed concerns on Sony "he is a top player and is very good of defense."

Lee was eliminated by Sony in last year's World Championships, and it is his time to pay back. The two will fight on Thursday at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.

Lee, together with world No. 1 Lin Dan from China, is widely recognized as the one setting the trend of the badminton sport at the moment.

Sony now ranks No. 5 after Lin, Lee, Lin's teammates Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2008)

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