National shuttler Lee Chong Wei received the highest vote from fans on ‘who they would like to have as the 2011 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Male Player Of The Year’.
The world number one overcame his arch rival and nemesis Lin Dan of China by 12 percent in an online poll conducted by the BWF through its official website and social media platforms Twitter, Weibo and Facebook.
The BWF through its website today said, Chong Wei received 34 percent of votes, Lin Dan (22 percent), men’s doubles Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng of China (16 percent) and South Korean pair Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung (14 percent).
“The fan poll has proven to be a bittersweet “revenge” for Lee Chong Wei, who was in fourth position on the poll at 4pm (local time yesterday), while Lin Dan had taken pole position.
“Chong Wei eventually came up on top as the fan favourite when he edged out the four-time World Champion by 12 percent majority votes,” said BWF.
Badminton fans from around the world were given an opportunity to cast their votes for 24 hours, starting 8pm on Dec 4.
The fan vote results will be shared with the BWF Council, who are currently meeting in Queenstown, New Zealand and will make the final decision on the winners.
“While the 2011 season’s results and performance are at the forefront of consideration, fans appeal and the role model quality of a player are of growing importance in the criteria of the BWF Player of the Year award,” said BWF.
Meanwhile, in the 2011 BWF Female Player of the Year category, mixed doubles player Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia got the highest vote of 78 percent, followed by China doubles Wang Xiaoli/Yu Yang (6 percent) and China’s singles player Wang Shixian (5 percent) and Wang Yihan (4 percent).
The winner of the two prestigious awards will be announced at the Li Ning BWF World Super series Finals in Liuzhou, China, next week.
– Bernama
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