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.