Lin Dan will not pull out from Indonesian Open as many feared
Top News 5:22 PM
PETALING JAYA: A Lee Chong Wei-Lin Dan showdown in the Indonesian Open is still on after it was confirmed yesterday that the Chinese star will not pull out from the Super Series Premier event in Jakarta.
Three-time world champion Lin Dan had conceded a walkover in last Sunday’s Singapore Open final to team-mate Chen Jin citing illness.
And there were fears that he might pull off a similar stunt in Jakarta.
Riveting rivalry: Lee Chong Wei (left) and Lin Dan should serve the fans another classic clash.
Lin Dan had conceded walkovers at the 2010 China and Hong Kong Opens and this year’s Malaysian Open – all in the quarter-final stage.
And rumours were abound that his latest stunt was to boost Chen Jin’s chances of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general manager Kenny Goh, however, quashed such speculations.
“So far the Chinese team have not given any indication that Lin Dan will be pulling out,” Kenny said in a telephone interview from Jakarta yesterday.
“As far as we know, Lin Dan will be playing and that’s all that matters. Because, at the end of the day, in order to be a champion you have to beat everyone else.”
While all the attention will be on Lin Dan, world No. 1 Chong Wei will be going about his business – gunning for his sixth title of the year.
He has already won the Super Series Masters Final, Malaysian Open, All-England, Indian Open and the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold.
Chong Wei’s goal is to win the World Championships in Birmingham in August and the Indonesian Open will be his last tournament to the world meet.
It will be important for Chong Wei to do well in Jakarta as it will give him a tremendous boost ahead of the world meet.
The 29-year-old Chong Wei is expected to sail through the opening round as he will be up against Indonesian youngster Tommy Sugiarto. But he faces a tricky opposition in the quarter-finals as he could meet either seventh seed Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam, South Korean veteran Lee Hyun-il or China’s Wang Zhengming.
A probable semi-final clash against fourth seed Chen Long of China awaits next before the much-awaited duel with Lin Dan in the final.
Lin Dan is seeded second and has local hero Taufik Hidayat, veteran Dane Peter Gade Christensen and team-mates Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai for company.
Meanwhile, national elite shuttler Liew Daren did well to dispatch Indonesian opponents in the qualifying rounds to earn a place in the main draw and a rematch against Taufik in the first round today.
Former national shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim, however, crashed out in the first qualifying round against Taiwan’s Hsueh Hsuan Yi.
Daren faced Taufik in the first round of the Singapore Open last week and came close to upsetting the Indonesian ace.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 5:22 PM.
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