Malaysian star Lee Chong Wei gets back to winning ways after doping ban
Victory in Calgary over Hong Kong's Ng Ka-long helps former world number one one shuttler climb up the ranks after eight-month ban
The paltry Canadian Open winner's cheque did not even cover the cost of his flight back to Malaysia, but that mattered little to former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei who was just relieved to be a badminton champion again.
Victory in Calgary over Hong Kong's Ng Ka-long followed on the back of success in New York the week before for the twice Olympic silver medallist and former world number one.
Winning lowly grand prix titles would previously have carried little weight for one of the greats of the game but a humbling eight-month ban for doping, which expired last month, has changed perspectives for the 32-year-old Malaysian.
Before the ban, I was the world number one ... It didn't matter even when I lost. In the US and Canada, I had to win no matter what to improve my world ranking and that was mentally challenging
"I won US$3,750 for the title today. It's not enough to cover for the flight, but it's not about money. It's the fantastic feeling of being a champion again," Lee was quoted as saying by Malaysian media yesterday.
"Before the ban, I was the world number one for many years. It didn't matter even when I lost. In the US and Canada, I had to win no matter what to improve my world ranking and that was mentally challenging.
"It was my first trip to the Opens in the US and Canada. I even struggled to adjust to the different time zones. I played a total of 12 matches in the last two weeks.
