Mulheim an der Ruhr: Two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan and Rio Olympic champion Chen Long easily defeated their respective opponents to cruise into the men’s singles third round of the German Open on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old former world number one Lin Dan came into the tournament seeded third, was in destructive form against Poland’s Mateusz Dubowski and needed only one hour 34 minutes to win 21-14, 21-16. He will take on Emil Holst of Denmark on Thursday.
The reigning Olympic champion Chen Long also reached the third round with a 21-10, 21-6 victory over England’s Sam Parsons. Chen will face No. 12 seed Kidambi Srikanth from India next.
In men’s doubles, the charged up Indonesia/Malaysia duo of Hendra Setiawan/Tan Boon Heong put up a spirited fight before losing to No. 2 seeds Mads Conrad-petersen/Mads Pieler Kolding of Denmark 21-14, 17-21, 15-21 in 50 minutes.
Playing in their first tournament together this year, Malaysia’s Olympic silver medalists Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying had an easy passage to the second round, overcoming Finland’s Anton Kaisti-Jenny Nystrom 21-6, 21-7 in just 20 minutes in their opener. The Malaysian pair are set to take on Mark Lamsfuss-Isabel Herttrich of Germany for a place in the final 8.
The mixed doubles No. 4 seeds mixed Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing of Malaysia survived a 3-set opener, dispatching Germany’s Michael Fuchs-Birgit Overzier 21-17, 18-21, 21-16 to meet Thailand’s Nipitphon Phuangphuapet/Jongkolphan Kititharakul for a spot in the quarter-finals.
