Rashid: Chong Wei's discipline, desire to succeed set him apart from the rest

Lee Chong Wei was so committed in his quest to be the best that he would ask to train the next day after arriving home from winning a tournament, shared his former coach Rashid Sidek.

Rashid is one of Lee’s longest serving coaches, having oversaw the shuttler’s career from 2003-2015.

In a podcast session with another former shuttler Ameer Zainuddin, Rashid shared what set Lee apart from the rest.

“Chong Wei’s discipline, determination and hunger to succeed was incomparable. If training starts at 7.30am, he would be there at 7am. Everyday. This was when he was the world number one.

“At training, he would even scold his sparring partners if they were not taking the session seriously. Such was his commitment to his craft.

“Even after he had just won a tournament, he refused to take it easy. After landing home, he would ask us coaches for a training session the next day.

“If you asked me as a coach, I wanted a day off. But since Chong Wei wanted to train, us coaches would go along with it. Even during the Chinese New Year celebrations, he would go for a cardio workout or ask to train in the morning. Only after that he would celebrate.

“He had his own routine and goals that he wanted to fulfill. It made it easier to be his coach, we just had to be there to support him,” said Rashid.

Under Rashid, Lee stayed as world number one for six years and won two Olympic silver medals in 2008 and 2012.