Lee Chong Wei’s long standing on-court rivalry with Lin Dan may have been well documented, but the national icon recently opened up about his greatest opponent and admitted he was ‘obsessed’ with the Chinese superstar.

The former world number one recently took part in a Facebook live session with former Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Steven Sim, and was asked who he thought was the greatest shuttler of all time.

Lee’s answer was as expected: The two time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion.

But the Malaysian didn’t stop there, he went on to reveal how his fascination with Lin Dan consumed him.

“Lin Dan is a legend. He has won plenty of competitions and I have to salute him. Even after returning to training after tournaments, my mind was constantly on him.

“I know in order to win any tournament, I have to meet him and beat him. There was no other way, because he participated in almost every tournament as me. It was difficult to rest because I was thinking about him all the time.

“Even when I had cramps during training and the coaches asked me to rest, I refused to because I knew he was waiting for me. It was a psychological battle,” said Lee.

Both shuttlers faced each other in 40 competitive showdowns, a duel which Lin Dan won 28 times.

‘Super Dan’ had also denied Lee from winning two world championships (2011, 2013) and two Olympics (2008, 2012).

Despite their rivalry, both men had deep respect for each other and Lin Dan admitted one of the reasons he wanted to feature at the Tokyo Olympics was to have another go at Lee.

Unfortunately that dream did not come through, with Lee announcing his retirement in 2019 to recover from first-stage nose cancer.

In the chat, Lee also said he has now fully recovered and is focusing his efforts on helping the frontliners combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Through my Lee Chong Wei Foundation, I have sent 6000 face masks to hospitals and police stations in Bukit Mertajam in Penang. I hope it will go some way to help them in their jobs. I also want to urge everyone to continue staying at home,” he said.