World champions Lin Dan and his girlfriend Xie
Xingfang return to the city where they captured the world team titles to
spearhead the Japan Open badminton tournament this week.
Lin Dan of China celebrates a winning
point over compatriot Bao Chunlai during their men's singles final match
at the World Badminton Championships in Madrid September 24,
2006.[Reuters] |
Lin and Xie led China to victory in the Thomas and Uber Cup here in May and
successfully added the singles titles at the World Championships in Madrid last
month.
Defending champion Lin, the top seed, has received a first-round bye along
with the other seven seeded players but his side of the draw also includes 2003
All England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia.
Also in the top half are European champion Peter Gade of Denmark, seeded
third, two-time All England champion Chen Hong of China, seeded fifth, Simon
Santoso of Indonesia and Yeoh Kay Bin of Malaysia.
The 29-year-old Dane will have to beat Chen if he wants to play a potential
semi-final against Lin. Gade lost to Chen in the world championships
quarter-finals.
Asian champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, seeded second, has to survive a
tough bottom half of the draw, starting with a second-round meeting against
former Asian champion Soni Dwi Kuncoro.
If he wins, he will be on course for a possible quarter-final against his
compatriot and 2001 Japan Open champion Muhammad Roslin Hashim.
Unseeded Athens Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia also faces a
tough second round match against world silver medalist Bao Chunlai of China in
the second round.
Hidayat defeated Bao in the Indonesian Open final in May.
Ronald Susilo of Singapore is seeking to regain the title he won two years
ago here, starting with a second round match against Japan's Naoki Kawamae.
In the women's singles, Xie Xingfang and her compatriot Zhang Ning are
heavily tipped to face each other in the final.
Zhang, the defending champion and Athens Olympic gold medalist, takes on
Japan's Fumi Iwawaki in the second round.
In the top half of the draw with Zhang are Pi Hongyan of France, seeded
third, China's Jiang Yanjiao and Zhu Lin, joint seeded fifth, and local hopes Yu
Hirayama and Eriko Hirose.
Xie will take on Tine Rasmussen of Denmark in the bottom half, which also
includes Asian champion Wang Chen of Hong Kong, this year's Korea Open winner Lu
Lan of China, and 2002 Commonwealth gold medalist Li Li of
Singapore.
