Datuk Lee Chong Wei (simplified Chinese: 李宗伟; pinyin: Lǐ zōng wěi, born in George Town, Penang; October 21, 1982) is a professional badminton player from Malaysia who resides in Bukit Mertajam. Lee won the silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games, thus becoming the first Malaysian to reach the final of the men's singles event and ending Malaysia's Olympic medal drought since the 1996 Games. This achievement also earned him the title Datuk, and a description by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as national hero.
As a singles player, Lee was again ranked first worldwide on August 21, 2008. He is the third Malaysian men's singles shuttler after Rashid Sidek and Roslin Hashim to achieve such a ranking (since official rankings were first kept in the 1980s), and is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the ranking for more than two weeks.
Lee has won many international badminton titles in his career, including eight Super Series titles. However, despite his status among the world elite, Lee has only managed to capture bronze (in 2005) at the BWF World Championships and has never won the prestigious All England Open. Lee has also been unable to lead Malaysia to victory in the highly coveted biennial Thomas Cup (men's international team championship), despite his number one rankings during the 2006 and 2008 events.
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