Lee Chong Wei's wedding bell blues (and joy)

Last month, Lee Chong Wei had to miss Lin Dan's wedding in Beijing because he was playing in the 2012 Japan Open. Next month, it could be Lin Dan's turn to miss Chong Wei's wedding because he's playing at the 2012 China Open.
With the competition opening just two days after Chong Wei's wedding, there's a possibility that members of the Chinese team, including Lin Dan and his wife Xie Xingfang, won't make it for Chong Wei's banquet.
Nonetheless, Chong Wei and his future wife, Wong Mew Choo, are expecting a massive turnout for their wedding reception and they have made arrangements to celebrate their marriage over two days.
On Friday 9th November, their guests will include dignitaries, officials and acquaintances. But the real ceremony happens on Saturday 10th November where only close friends and family have been invited.
"I have a long list of friends but I'm not sure whether they will turn up," said Chong Wei. "The China Open is from 13th November and it is too close to the wedding. In fact I haven't decided whether I will compete in the Super Series."
That wasn't their only obstacle. Their wedding plans were nearly scuppered when Mew Choo's grandma passed away recently—and Chinese custom dictates that they must marry within 100 days from her death or wait three more years.
"We discussed it and decided to make early plans for the wedding," said Chong Wei. "I will be too old if I wait for another three years." So now, the couple will tie the knot at the KL Convention Centre on the 10th. "Mew Choo is one patient woman and I like that quality in her," Chong Wei added.
Chong Wei and Mew Choo, the country's top badminton players (until she retired recently), also spent three hours for a photo shoot at the beach in Port Dickson.
"I've known her since my junior days and we have been in and out of a relationship for the last 11 years," said Chong Wei, who normally keeps his love life private but who has finally opened up to talk a little about his fiancée.
"Of course there have been misunderstandings, but she has always stood by me. She knew me and liked me even when I was a nobody, and she has not changed. She has waited for me for a long time and it was time to marry her."
Published: 15th October 2012