April 11 is an important date for me - Lee Chong Wei
Syafique Shuib
March 10, 2015 17:53 MYT
March 10, 2015 17:53 MYT
National badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei is relieved that the hearing date for his doping case has been set for April 11 in Amsterdam.
"I feel relieved the date has been set because before we have been waiting for this. First it was March and then April. So, April 11 will be an important date for me.
“I’ve been playing for years and this is the first time I’ve failed a doping test,” said Lee when met at Juara Stadium, Bukit Kiara.
He also expects a positive results so that he can continue playing badminton.
"It has been five months since I last played in a tournament. To some extent, it has affected me – perhaps not physically but mentally.
“The qualifying for the Olympics starts in May so I am hoping for a favourable result,” said Lee.
He will be accompanied by a lawyer to Amsterdam, as Lee revealed during the press conference that his wife Datin Wong Mew Choo is pregnant with their second child.
Meanwhile, the national singles head coach Rashid Sidek also hopes for a positive decision.
“I am not yet relieved. The most important thing is that the decision is in favour for Chong Wei so that he can continue playing until the Olympics,” he told reporters.
The 32-year-old two-time Olympic silver medalist was temporarily suspended after his urine samples taken was tested positive for the suppressant substance, ‘dexamethasone’ at the World Championships semi-final in Copenhagen, Denmark on August 30, 2014.