HE may have fallen at the final hurdle in the Beijing Olympics but there was yet another consolation for silver medallist Lee Chong Wei yesterday.

As ironic as this may sound, Chong Wei has dethroned Lin Dan, who denied him Olympic gold, as the World No 1.

It was a position the China star had held since Sept 28, 2006 but he drops to second in the latest ranking, released on Aug 21, due to his limited appearances on the international circuit this year.

For Chong Wei, now a Datuk, his rise is due to his consistency over the last 12 months.

Chong Wei won four titles and was runner-up in another four over the last 12 months while Lin Dan won five titles and finished runner-up twice over the same period.
Chong Wei became the World No 1 for the first time on June 29, 2006 and maintained his position until July 20 before Lin Dan snatched it again.

However, that lasted for only a month as Chong Wei regained the top ranking on Aug 24, 2006 and held it until Sept 24 before Lin Dan made the top position his own until last week.

The progress of Chong Wei will also be rewarded handsomely by the BA of Malaysia (BAM) as players ranked in the top two receive a quarterly incentive of RM45,000.

Chong Wei, going by his current form, is likely to maintain his position in the top two bracket until the end of the year and earn RM180,000 on ranking bonuses alone this year.

Rashid Sidek was the first Malaysian to hold the top position, albeit for less than a month, in 1996 while Roslin Hashim held it for a similar period in 2001.

It was Wong Choong Hann's turn to become World No 1 a year later and his reign also didn't last for more than a month.

For Chong Wei to avoid a similar fate, he will have to retain the Japan Open next month.

Should Lin Dan win the Japan Open, which will be held on Sept 16-22, he will be the World No 1 again as Chong Wei has 85,579 points to the Olympic champion's 84,080.

A win is normally worth 9,200 points.