Beijing semis repeat on the cards for Lin, Chen
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 24, 2012
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Lin Dan of China returns a shot during the semifinal of Thomas Cup between China and Japan. |
Olympic favorite Lin Dan of China will open the defense of his badminton title against unheralded Scott Evans of Ireland.
The draw at the Olympic Park yesterday also pitted top-seeded Lee Chong Wei, who lost to Lin in the Beijing Olympic final, against Ville Lang of Finland.
Third-seeded Chen Long will meet Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, who won the Singapore Open last month, and Chinese teammate Chen Jin, who reached the world's top four in April to qualify for London, was placed in Lin's half of the draw.
Lin and Chen Jin are seeded to repeat their semifinal matchup from Beijing.
Lee could have to go through Chen Long in the semifinals, although his first-round match will be tough, as Lang went three rounds in Beijing. Lang will be Lee's first match since May 22, when he tore right ankle ligaments and sent a shudder through Malaysia, which regards him as its best hope for a first Olympic gold medal.
Taufik Hidayat, the 2004 Olympic champion from Indonesia, could meet Lin in the last 16 if he wins his group.
Chinese women have won the last three Olympic singles gold medals, and they're favored again with the top three seeded players: No. 1 Wang Yihan, No. 2 Wang Xin, and No. 3 Li Xuerui, all making their Olympic debuts.
Li Xuerui, the in-form player after a 30-match winning streak, was in Wang Xin's half of the draw. Wang Yihan's half featured the two best non-Chinese threats for the gold, No. 4 Saina Nehwal of India and No. 5 Tine Baun of Denmark.
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