LEE Chong Wei's premature exit at the Aviva Open Singapore on Thursday might have drawn groans of disappointment from local badminton fans.

But few in the press room at the Singapore Indoor Stadium would have shed tears over his departure.

From the moment Lee touched down in Singapore, he has been a sullen figure, one who made it abundantly clear that he tolerates the media, rather than embraces them.

The racket is mightier than the pen perhaps, but his behaviour during the pre-tournament press conference on Monday is a case in point.

After rushing out of the media session, he then became uncontactable. Even after his first-round win over Andrew Smith on Wednesday, his answers were terse and his body language spoke volumes of a man who could not wait to get out of the camera glare.

The final straw came on Friday, when a proposed interview with the top-seeded shuttler was canned at the last minute, because the Malaysian team had decided to fly back home.

Lee's behaviour is all the more puzzling, for in all my previous encounters with the player, he has always been friendly and affable.

Just last year, he spoke candidly about his romantic relationship with teammate Wong Mew Choo, even when his girlfriend was reluctant to speak on the subject.

It's hard to believe that the world's best badminton player has become an incredible sulk overnight, but there might have been mitigating reasons for this.

According to Lee, he has had less than a week to prepare for the Super Series event here, owing to domestic competitions in Malaysia.

As the defending champion, he might have been frustrated by his lack of sharpness for an important tournament.

The sudden death of his long-time mentor Indra Gunawan last weekend would have dampened his spirits too.

Or perhaps Lee's crown as the world No 1 is getting heavier by the day, especially with the World Championships just two months away.

Whatever his reasons were, Lee will not be terribly missed in Singapore this weekend.

With so many colourful characters left in the Singapore Open fray, like the hugely entertaining and outspoken Nguyen Tien Minh, there will be plenty of other reasons to keep our eyes glued to the court.