Lee Chong Wei finds an easy draw in the All England Open Premier Super Series – Badminton news
Malaysia’s top shuttler Lee Chong Wei remains lucky as he finds an easy draw in the Men’s Singles category in the upcoming All England Open Premier Super Series 2012, which will take place in Birmingham, England, from March 6-11.
The defending champion Chong Wei, who is reigning World Number One in Men’s Singles world placements, has been placed at the upper half of draw and will not face the top three Chinese shuttlers including Lin Dan, Chen Long and Chen Jin.
All these Chinese players have been positioned in the bottom half of draw and are expected to face each other at quarter-final and semi-final stages. It means that Chong Wei will face any of these rivals only in the title match.
The 29-year-old Chong Wei, who is the top seed in the event, will start his campaign in the tournament by playing against China’s young shuttler and former World Junior Champion Wang Zhengming in the first round.
In the second round, Chong Wei will meet either Denmark’s Hans Kristian Vittinghus or Indonesia’s Simon Santoso.
At the quarter-final stage, the World Number One is expected to meet either Danish shuttler Jan O Jorgensen or Japan’s Sho Sasaki.
Chong Wei is expected to face Danish veteran and World Number Four Peter Hoeg Gade in the semi-final of the tournament.
The Malaysian top shuttler is in his prime form as he has clinched the opening two tournaments of current year including Korea Open and Malaysia Open.
Chong Wei also helped his team to qualify for the Thomas Cup Finals by winning all of his fights at the Thomas Cup Preliminary Round in Macau, last week.
Last year, Chong Wei defeated China’s ace and World Number Two Lin Dan in the final of All England Open.
This time, both shuttlers are expected to meet again in the title match as Chong Wei has an easy draw while Lin has a clear upper hand over his compatriots in all of their previous head-to-head meetings.
Badminton fans from around the world would love to watch the World Number One Lee Chong Wei and Ruling World and Olympic Champion Lin Dan contesting in the final encounter at the All England Open.
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