PUTRAJAYA: National shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei yesterday received RM500,000 as reward for his silver medal win in the 2012 London Olympics.
The reward was presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak in a ceremony at Seri Perdana which was attended by his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
The reward comprised RM300,000 from the National Sports Council's Incentive Scheme and RM200,000 from the Malaysian government in the form of Amanah Saham Wawasan.
Apart from that, Chong Wei also received a watch presented by Rosmah who is the Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) patron.
The Prime Minister congratulated Chong Wei on his success in delivering a silver medal and was confident it would strengthen his resolve to achieve further success in the 2016 Brazil Olympics.
"Maybe luck was not on his side to win gold, but he fought right to the end. It showed how serious he was to achieve success and I hope he will not give up on achieving even bigger successes," he said.
Najib also agreed with a proposal to set up a National Badminton Academy at the Juara Stadium Badminton Training Centre in Bukit Kiara.
Chong Wei, 30, said: "I am grateful to the Prime Minister and his wife for the reward today. I will be saving the money. Even though I did not bring back a gold medal, the government still supports me. Nonetheless, I have done my best," he said.
"However, I will look at my performance in two years, after the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, both in 2014. If my fitness permits, I will continue till the 2016 Olympics." Bernama