Tokyo Olympics men’s doubles silver medalist Li Jun Hui of China announced today that he has decided to officially retire from the Chinese national team.

On his personal Weibo account, the 26-year-old divulged that he can no longer participate in competitive badminton because of a knee injury that has haunted him since 2017.

He disclosed that he sustained an injury to the meniscus of his right knee with other complications during the 2017 season of the Chinese Badminton Super League. Though the condition of his injury has gradually improved with treatment, it has become a roadblock for the former world champion.

Li Jun Hui wrote, “Competition in men’s doubles badminton is very fierce now. High-intensity training is the basic guarantee for victory.

“Because of the injury, I cannot cope with the normal training plans designed for the national team. This extremely disturbs my mind and my spirit very often.

“Because of my injuries, I am very sorry to announce today that I will be withdrawing from the national team and retiring.”

Li has partnered with Liu Yu Chen since 2012 and is currently ranked 4th in the world.

They won the world championships gold medal in 2018 and played a crucial part when China regained the Thomas Cup in 2018.

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