The two-time Olympic silver medallist was in Amsterdam to attend a Badminton World Federation (BWF) hearing for a doping violation.
Fast forward to this year, Chong Wei has successfully rebounded from the eight-month suspension and won a record 11th Malaysian Open title.
Chong Wei’s 21-13, 21-8 win over world No. 1 Chen Long in Sunday’s final could be due to the fact that the China ace is saving his best for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.
The world No. 4 is, however, not getting carried away with the win and is just focused on the big prize – the elusive Olympic gold medal.
“There are just four more months to the Olympics ... this is the final push in my preparations,” said Chong Wei.
“It doesn’t matter how tough the training programme is ... I’m prepared to tough it out because now is the crucial preparation period.
“What’s important for me now is to focus on being consistent in the coming tournaments ... it doesn’t even matter if Chen Long is saving his best for later.
“I have gone through the programme with my coaches – Hendrawan and (Tey) Seu Bock – and we’re clear about our strategy for the Olympics.”
Hendrawan believes that there are no guarantees that Chong Wei will win the gold medal at the Olympics despite his return to form.
“There are still a few more months to go ... it’s hard to tell if Chong Wei will be at his peak then,” said the Indonesian.
“There are two factors ... his age and the possibility of injuries. Besides, he’s a family man now and he can’t concentrate solely on badminton, unlike the previous two Olympics.”
Chong Wei, who is expected to move up two rungs to No. 2 in the world, will skip the Singapore Open, which starts on Tuesday.
Instead, he will return to action at the Asia Badminton Championships (ABC) from April 26-May 1 in Wuhan, China. He last competed in the ABC in 2008
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