Malaysian shuttlers face tough men’s singles draw in Badminton Asia Championships 2011
Malaysia’s shuttlers are facing a tough draw in men’s singles event of the Badminton Asia Championships 2011, which will take place in Chengdu, China from 19 – 24 April.
The draws of the events, which were released on Tuesday, show that all Malaysian players are set to face tough opponents from the opening round of the event.
Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng, who has recently won the men’s singles title Kuala Lumpur Open 2011, will be facing the former Junior World Champion and current world number four, Chen Long of China. Both shuttlers have never met in any event so far. It will
be a good match to watch out as Wei Feng is confident of performing well against the Chinese.
Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif, who was the runner-up in the Kuala Lumpur Open, will start his campaign in Asian Championships by playing against India’s back-up shuttler, Sourabh Verma.
Arif Latif is also in a very good shape and he has improved a lot in all aspects of the game under the supervision of the Indonesian coach, Hendrawan. If Arif Latif wins his opening match, he will meet Japan’s Sho Sasaki in the second round who has recently
won the Australian Open Grand Prix Gold 2011.
Tan Chun Seang, another men’s singles shuttler of Malaysia, will meet the 15th seed Hong Kong’s Chan Yan Kit. The Malaysian has very little chance to progress further. However, Malaysia’s Liew Daren, Goh Soon Huat and Chan Kwong Beng have comparatively
easy matches in the first round of men’s singles.
The current world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia is not participating in this event as he will participate in the India Open Super Series 2011, which will start form 26 April. However, China will field their full strength in all categories in the Asian
Championships.
Lin Dan, Bao Chunlai, Chen Long, Chen Jin, Wang Zhengming and many back-up players from China will participate in this event. All of the Chinese players will not participate in the super series event in India as they will remain focused on the Asian Championships
and the next month’s Sudirman Cup, which will be played in Qingdao, China from 22 – 29 May.
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