Olympic champion Taufik faces tough challenge at Japan Open
Olympic champion Taufik faces tough challenge at Japan Open
Agence France-Presse, Tokyo
Athens Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat is in the same quarter as second seed Peter Gade of Denmark at the Japan Open which begins here on Wednesday.
All eyes will be on the Indonesian, who missed the All-England in early March due to a knee injury and is expected to be an essential part of the Sudirman Cup mixed team campaign in Beijing next month.
All England champion Chen Hong of China, Malaysia's Wong Choong Hann, 2001 Japan Open winner Muhammad Roslin Hashim, and Thai ace Boonsak Ponsana are also in the same half.
After receiving a first-round bye, Gade, who won the title three times in a row from 1997, is likely to face China's world champion Xia Xuanze, the winner here in 2003, in the third round.
World number one Lin Dan of China faces relatively light competition in the top half of the draw.
The 21-year-old Lin, the losing finalist to Chen Hong at the prestigious All England tournament last month, has been drawn with teammate Bao Chunlai, defending champion Ronald Susilo of Singapore, last week's Thailand Open runner-up Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark, and Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia.
Hafiz is eying a third straight victory following his success in the Swiss and Thailand Opens.
Lin and his countrywoman in-form Xie Xingfang will spearhead powerhouse China's bid to restore their badminton supremacy at the tournament.
China ended without a title in the US$180,000 event last year here for the first time in 10 years and only the second time in its 23-year-old history.
In the women's competition, Xie Xingfang, who has won 30 singles matches in a row, will face Cheng Shao-chieh of Taiwan in the first round.
Second seed Xie was drawn with Thailand Open winner Yao Jie of the Netherlands and French third seed Pi Hongyan in the bottom half.
In the top half, China's Olympic champion Zhang Ning, the top seed, is expected to meet defending champion Mia Audina Tjiptawan of the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, whom Zhang defeated in the final at Athens.
Meanwhile, fifth seed Zhou Mi is looking to win back the title she took in 2001 and 2002 but might have to contend with 2003 Asian champion Wang Chen of Hong Kong in the quarter finals if they both progress that far.