Badminton Men's Singles: Will Lee bring home Malaysia's first gold?

Lee Chong Wei celebrates victory (Photo credit: CFP)Photo Gallery>>(BEIJING, July 26) -- Lee Chong Wei, World No. 2 badminton player, is one of the gold medal hopefuls at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Beijing. He is without a doubt Malaysia's best bet for gold, which the country has yet to claim 52 years after the first squad was dispatched to the Olympic Games.

With the Beijing Games beginning in less than two weeks, the pressure is mounting on 25-year-old Lee, freshly crowned at the 2008 Singapore Open after crushing finalist Simon Santoso of Indonesia 21-13, 21-5.

Lee participated in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where he was knocked out in the second round by Chen Hong of China.

But the Malaysian has since then made impressive progress, winning a series of titles in major badminton events against top ranked shuttlers like World No.1 Lin Dan of China and Thai ace Boonsak Ponsana.

However, Lin is not the only one standing in the way.

Defending Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia will enter the tournament as one of the strongest medal contenders, despite his recent ups and downs.

Lin's compatriots Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin, currently ranked third and fourth in the world, respectively, stand good chances of snatching the coveted gold, too.

Also in the hunt are Athens bronze medalist Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia and Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, champion of the Singapore Open in 2007.

Badminton is surely Malaysia's best shot of winning an Olympic gold medal in Beijing. Previous Malaysian shuttlers brought home three Olympic medals: a silver and bronze in Men's Doubles and a bronze in Men's Singles.