Chen out for revenge in Kinabalu
Chen out for revenge in Kinabalu
Agencies, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
China's Chen Hong, losing finalist in last weekend's Indonesian Open, starts as favorite in the men's singles event at the US$120,000 Malaysia Open here on Wednesday, according to AFP.
Chen went down tamely to Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat, losing 9- 15, 9-15 on Sunday, but this time around the Chinese can expect the challenge to come from hosts Malaysia, led by world championships runner-up Wong Choong Hann.
Taufik is not taking part and the Indonesians will be banking instead on Rony Agustinus, Budi Santoso and two juniors Taufiq Akbar Hidayat and Sony Dwi Kuncoro.
Chen takes on Japan's Yousuke Nakanishi in the first round, while the 26-year-old Wong, seeded fourth, faces a qualifier in his first match.
Wong's probable opponent in the last 16, provided both beat off their challengers, could be teammate Mohammed Hafiz Hashim.
"My aim is to reach at least the semifinals. With Taufik out, there is one fewer hurdle to clear," Wong said. "But I will not under-estimate their juniors. China and Denmark also have strong contenders for the title."
The unseeded All England champion has a tough first round draw against Hong Kong's 11th seed Agus Hariyanto.
The other Malaysian players in the fray are Lee Tsuen Seng, Lee Chong Wei and Hafiz's elder brother, Roslin.
The Malaysia Open, the third and last of the three-week tour of South-East Asia, is a lucrative one in terms of both prize money and all-important world ranking points in the World Grand Prix circuit.
China haa also world champion Xia Xuanze, and youngsters Bao Chunlai and Lin Dan.
Lee Hyun-il is South Korea's trump card while Denmark has Peter Gade-Christensen, Kenneth Jonassen and former world champion Peter Rasmussen.
Meanwhile, world champion Zhang Ning is the firm favorite for the women's singles crown. She looks set for another showdown with compatriot and second seed Gong Ruina.
Denmark's world title-winning duo Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen have already proven their gold medal in Birmingham was no flash in the pan by reaching the final in Singapore at the weekend, where they lost to teammates Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard Hansen.
But with Eriksen and Lundgaard missing from the Malaysian line-up, top seeds Paaske/Rasmussen have the chance to clinch a second World Grand Prix title to add to their win at the German Open last year, according to worldbadminton.net
Second seeds Flandi Limpele/Eng Hian, playing under their native Indonesian flag again, take on England's Robert Blair/Ian Palethorpe in the first round before a likely second round match against teammates Candra Wijaya/Halim Haryanto.