Lee Chong Wei Opens Up on Doping Scare and Comeback at Beyond Greatness Talk

Malaysian badminton great Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei shared some of the hardest chapters of his career on Saturday at the Beyond Greatness live talk, held at the Idea Live Arena in Petaling Jaya. Speaking to a full hall of fans and friends, the 44-year-old reflected on how he came through a doping controversy, fought his way back to the world No. 1 ranking and later battled cancer.

Chong Wei described the late-night call from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in 2014 telling him he had failed a drug test. He explained that he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and, after skipping the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, was racing to recover for the World Championships in Denmark. A doctor gave him a painkilling injection containing dexamethasone but did not properly declare the medication to the National Sports Council (NSC), which meant it was never reported to the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

The talk framed his story as a lesson in resilience: setbacks can hit anyone, but what matters is how you respond. For Malaysian fans, it was a rare, candid look at the moments that shaped one of the country's most celebrated athletes.

Source: The Star