Kuala Lumpur: With the Rio Olympics looming in August, world’s top badminton stars including Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, Chen Long and Carolina Marin are set battle in the men’s singles and women’s singles events at Malaysia Open Superseries Premier that slated to kick off on Tuesday.
Despite his recent early exits during his last two tournaments, losing to B. Sai Praneeth of India in the first round of All-England and was shocked by Hong Kong’s Wei Nan in the second round of Indian Open, Malaysian badminton superstar Lee Chong Wei remained upbeat as he is bidding for a record 11th Malaysian Open title.
“I’m not in my best shape now, but my main goal this year is Olympics. I don’t want to win all tournaments only to lose in Olympics, which is the tournament that matters the most,” said Lee.
China will again lead the charge in the men’s singles with world champion Chen Long, and two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan spearheading China’s challenge at Malaysia Open.
If seeds hold, Lee will face Lin Dan in the semi-final.
Chen Long the top seed, is in the top half of the bracket and could face last week’s India Open champion Kento Momota in his semi-final match.
In women’s singles, Spain’s Carolina Marin, the two-time world champion, will likely to face stiff opposition from China’s Wang Yihan, Li Xuerui or Wang Shixian.
Marin will kick off her opener on Wednesday against Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin. Marin is expected to clash with Tee Jing Yi of Malaysia in the second round and with No. 6 seed Wang Yihan of China in the quarter-final
“I was sick that’s why I couldn’t play in India. Malaysia Open is going to be a tough tournament, and I’ll play my best in every match,” said Marin.
The Malaysia Open Superseries Premier will be the last Premier tournament in 2016 before the Olympics’ qualification ends in May 1st.
