Top two seeds in badminton men's singles for Beijing Olympics, Lin Dan from China and Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia, are set to caution their way toward the final through a dangerous minefield.
Lin Dan in match [Guangzhou Daily]
According to the badminton schedule released by the World Badminton Federation on Saturday, Top seed in men's singles Lin Dan will meet Ng Wei from Hong Kong on August 11, while No.2 seed Lee Chong Wei on the same day will face the challenge of Ronald Susilo from Singapore, who had surprisingly upsetted Super Dan in his first match at Athens Olympics.
Susilo, the "giant killer" currently ranked No.32, also downed the 26-year-old Malaysian in the second round of last year's Swiss Open when Lee was at a low ebb.
"Chong Wei should treat his first match against Susilo like a final," warned Malaysian national badminton singles coach Misbun Sidek, who considered the Indonesia-born Singaporean a great fighter, as he had survived two career-threatening injuries.
In the third round, Lin Dan is set to meet his "bogeyman", Park Sung Hwan from South Korea, who achieved the best head-to-head record against the world No.1 among all other men's singles shuttlers.
Lin Dan tries to get a lob [sina sports]
It won't be easy for aging Peter Gade from Denmark to stop Lin Dan in the quarterfinals in top half. On the contrary, Sony Dwi Kuncoro from Indonesia could be the highest hurdle for Lee to conquer.