Lee Chong Wei races for hat-trick as China stands in his way – Badminton news
The Malaysian ace Lee Chong Wei is racing for a hat-trick title while China standing in his way to glory in the All England Open, starting in Birmingham today.
The World Number one Chong Wei will be eyeing to become the second Malaysian shuttler after the great Wong Peng Soon who won three consecutive All England titles in 1950, 1951 and 1952.
The defending champion will have a strong opposition from the Chinese shuttlers throughout his way to glory as three top Chinese players Lin Dan, Chen Long, and Chen Jin along with their young compatriots Du Pengyu and Wang Zhengming are also gracing the
event.
The strongest of all Lin Dan will be striving to bag his fifth title and will not permit the Malaysian contender Chong Wei to seal the crown easily.
Both the greats of badminton arena had a perfect start this year as Lin Dan recently claimed the German Open crown while Lee Chong Wei clinched the Korean Open, where he nailed Lin Dan, and the Malaysia Open at beginning of this year.
However, there are some early hurdles for Chong Wei to clear as he needs to surpass the young Chinese Wang Zhengming and Du Pengyu, who has been labelled ‘dangerous’ by Malaysian singles coach Tey Seu Bock.
The coach said, “Chong Wei is prepared but we will not be talking about the later stages yet. Pengyu is one of the most improved players at the moment while Zhengming is China's future. These two players are going to be tough and these matches will also
decide how Chong Wei will fare. If they stretch, physically, it will be tougher for Chong Wei but he can handle it.”
The other two world-class shuttlers Chen Jin and Chen Long will meet Chong Wei in half way of his marathon but it is early to say that how the wind will blow and who it will throw in front of the Malaysian champ in the finals.
The China is pushing hard to help World Number five Chen Jin in capturing the fourth spot in world rankings which means three Chinese shuttlers in London Olympics.
Therefore, if Chen Jin clears his first round and paves his path to quarter-final he will face Lin Dan who can allow Chen Jin to go for maximum ranking points. This win will bring him against another compatriot Chen Long who can also carry the policy to
help Chen Jin in earning Olympic qualification points.
If Chong Wei marches into finals and then finds Chen Jin against him he has fair chances of hat-trick title but if Chen Jin is kicked out early then the Malaysian will have to sweat hard against Lin Dan in the final of All England Open.
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