Chong Wei bags fifth BWF best male player of the year award

The country's ace shuttler, Datuk Lee Chong Wei won his fifth Badminton World Federation (BWF) Best Male Player of the Year Award, last night.

He received the honour from BWF deputy president, Gustavo Salazar at the Players' Reception and Gala Dinner in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for displaying spectacular performances throughout the season, according to the BWF official Twitter site: @bwfmedia.

Chong Wei sidelined other nominees including compatriots and Olympics men's doubles silver medallist pair, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, China's Olympics men's singles gold medallist Chen Long and men's doubles pair Fu Haifeng-Zhang Nan, and Denmark's Jan O Jorgensen.

In the 2016 season, Chong Wei had bagged three World Superseries titles in Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan and his third Olympics silver medal at Rio in August, while going for his fifth World Superseries Finals title in Dubai.

For the record, the 34-year-old Penangite had received the honour in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

For the 2016 World Superseries Finals, Chong Wei, who is vying for his fifth title, is drawn in Group B with South Korea's Son Wan-ho, Hong Kong's Angus Ng Ka Long and Denmark's Viktor Axelsen.

Meanwhile, women's doubles player, Woon Khe Wei bagged the best-dressed award in the women's category at the dinner, while Viktor was selected as the best dressed in the men's category.

Former Junior World Champion Goh Jin Wei, who was nominated for the Eddy Choong Award as Most Promising Player of the Year, however, could not compete with the success of China's rising star, Chen Qingchen.

Japan's women's doubles pair Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi bagged the Best Female Player award while India's Pusarla V Sindhu received the Most Improved Player award.

In the para-badminton category, Lucas Mazur (France) and Karin Suter-Erath (Switzerland) were named the Para-Badminton Player of the Year in the men and women categories respectively.

The US$ 1,000,000 Dubai World Superseries Finals is scheduled from Dec 14-18 at Hamdan Sports Complex. -- Bernama