FORMER world No. 1 badminton player Datuk Lee Chong Wei will be the first Malaysian athlete to grace Madame Tussauds. His wax figure will be featured at The Champions Zone alongside sports icons like Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Yao Ming, and Manny Pacquiao.
Last month, Madame Tussauds had a special showcase in Kuala Lumpur, where the wax figure was unveiled at the JW Marriott Hotel before it was sent to Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong for permanent display.
The wax figure depicted Lee’s signature “smash” pose and wearing Lee’s Yonex jersey from his final Olympics performance in Rio 2016, along with SHB-01 LTD LCW shoes and a Yonex Duora 10 LCW badminton racquet.
Lee happily posed with the wax figure, and even joked that when he first saw the figure, he thought he had a new ‘brother’.
It took about six hours for Lee to pose for the wax sculpture. At least 200 different measurements were taken, including eye measurements that resulted in the creation of a lifelike figure.
At the event, Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh, Deputy Minister Adam Adli, and former Minister of Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq, were present.
“To inspire other sports athletes and to provide a voice of authority for younger athletes, people will turn to Lee,” said Yeoh.
“I do hope his achievement will inspire other athletes to work harder, not just to gain medals, but to have a good attitude, mental strength, and success after sports that is equally important,“ she added.
During the event, Lee was asked what memory came to mind when he looked at the wax figure wearing his Olympic jersey (which has his lucky colours, blue and green). He recalled the Rio Olympics in 2016, and all the ups and downs throughout his 19-year career as a national badminton player and his coaches, who had supported him.
An emotional Lee described that he had a “roller coaster” career, but one of the toughest times was when he tried to qualify for the Olympics in 2016.
“This was not easy,” said Lee, whose rank at that point went down to 142, and he had to come back up to the top position in 11 months
“It was a tough moment in my career,” said Lee, as his voice started to crack.
“It was just me, my coach, and my physiologist who went to the US and Canada, and it was tough. I was fighting for myself and for my country to qualify for the Olympics,” explained Lee, his eyes swelled with tears.
Wiping away the tears running down his cheeks, Lee took a moment to compose himself to speak while the audience applauded in a show of support and encouragement throughout the speech.
Continuing his speech, Lee thanked all of his coaches, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), ministers, the Youth and Sports Ministry, his friends, family, and sponsors, Yonex.
Lee also thanked all of his sponsors, who have never left him during his struggling moments and for their trust in him. A humble man- Lee even thanked the cleaning auntie, who helped to clean the badminton court after his many training sessions.
Last but not least, Lee thanked all Malaysians, who had supported him all throughout his journey to the top.
Lee, who has retired from badminton, holds a record of 349 weeks as the top badminton player worldwide, with 199 consecutive weeks listed at the top. – by S. Tamarai Chelvi
