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Lee Wins Seventh Straight Malaysian National Title
Malaysian world number one Lee Chong Wei warmed up for the Super Series Masters Finals by winning the national title for a record seventh straight time.
The 26-year-old Olympic silver medallist proved that he is still the dominant men's singles player in the country by strolling to a 21-11, 21-13 victory over Kedah's Chong Wei Feng in 30 minutes at Alor Star.
It was a double celebration for Lee, who was also given the 2008 Olympian Award for his efforts at the Beijing Games, where he reached the final before losing to China's Lin Dan.
His victory means that he surpassed the previous record of six titles held by his coach and mentor, Misbun Sidek, who was unable to be there because he is in Mecca performing the Muslim pilgrimage of Haj.
Lee said that seven in a row is not enough and has set his sights on 10 titles.
He said in the local press: "It is a double joy for me today. I nailed a record seventh national title and I also received my first ever Olympian Award.
"I am not going to stop here. I will be gunning for my 10th national title and I will not let anyone stop me from achieving it.
"I will send a text message to Misbun to inform of the good news. I know he will be really happy for me today."
Even if he does win 10 titles, it will not be the most for the competition. That record belongs to Misbun's brother Jalani, who won 11 men's doubles titles.
Jalani's first title was with Misbun and the other 10 with his regular partner and other brother, Razif.
While Lee is keen for more domestic titles, he also hopes that his younger rivals can get better and provide him with stronger challenges in future tournaments.
Speaking of Chong, he said: "I gave some words of encouragement. His pace was slower than mine. I told him that he should think of applying the right strategy to break my rhythm. He was just following me and giving me room to attack."
In the women's singles, Julia Wong won her third title by beating Lydia Cheah 21-19, 7-21, 21-10 in the final.
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