Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan expected to clash in Men’s Singles final of Badminton World Championships
Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and China’s Lin Dan are expected to meet in the Men’s Singles final of the 2011 Badminton World Championships, starting from August 8, in London. Chong Wei and Lin are currently ranked at the Number One and Two positions respectively, in the Men’s Singles world rankings.
Chong Wei will be the top seed in the mega event and Lin will be the second seed in the Men’s Singles draw. Both shuttlers have attained the highest level of skill in the game, as they are widely regarded as the best shuttlers in comparison to other athletes.
Despite the fact that Chong Wei was the top seed in the World Championships for the last three editions of the event, he failed to clinch the title in any of them. On the other hand, Lin grabbed the Men’s Singles title on three occasions and he also won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Chinese has an upper hand on Chong Wei as he is leading the table in head-to-head draws with a clear lead of 15-8. However, the Malaysian has made great improvement in his skills and is now enjoying the World Number One position for the last four years. This year, both shuttlers have met on two occasions and are tied with a 1-1 victory each.
Besides these two shuttlers, the event will see the likes of other top contenders including World Number Three, Peter Hoeg Gade of
Denmark and World Number Four, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia. The two experienced shuttlers can create hurdles for the top seeds in the world meet.
While talking about Chong Wei’s prospects in the World Championships, head coach of Malaysia, Rashid Sidek said, “Chong Wei will however, need to focus on every match and not underestimate his opponents, especially those from China.”
If Chong Wei wins the Men’s Singles title in London, he will become the first shuttler from Malaysia to win the crown in the World Championships, as no Malaysian has ever won the title of the mega event since it was first held in 1979.
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