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Badminton / German Open: Lydia aside, others should open with wins

Lydia Cheah faces a potentially fatal first round battle against South Korea’s Hwang Hye Youn.
Lydia Cheah faces a potentially fatal first round battle against South Korea’s Hwang Hye Youn.

THE national shuttlers, except for Lydia Cheah, are poised to begin their German Open campaign with victories in Mulheim today.

Lydia faces a difficult first-round encounter against hard-working South Korean Hwang Hye Youn, the fourth seed, in the women's singles but the Malaysia has good reason to overcome the odds.

Lydia, the World No 35, must break into the top 24 before the end of April in order to earn a chance of qualifying for the World Championships, and a win against Hye Youn will strengthen her cause.

As for Julia Wong she should advance to the second round without much trouble as she meets Megumi Taruno of Japan in her opening encounter. The men's elite back-up shuttlers, led by Chong Wei Feng, should also have it easy before things get tough in the later stages of the grand prix event.

Wei Feng has a relatively easy first-round match against Marc Zwiebler of Germany, while Liew Daren may have to battle harder in order to secure a win over Anand Pawar of India.
Arif Latif should also cruise into the next round as he will be facing Lithuania's Kestutis Navickas while Tan Chun Seang should also advance as he meets a qualifier.

Veteran Wong Choong Hann, who will be taking advantage of the absence of several top players, opens against Mathias Wigardt of Sweden, while another former national player Yeoh Kay Bin is up against Russia's Ivan Sozonoy.

Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong, competing in their second tournament as a pair, can also look forward to a flying start as they will play Denmark's Jacob Chemnitz-Mikkel Larsen.

Razif Latif-Chan Peng Soon, resuming their combination after partnering different players over the last two years, should also beat Ruud Bosch-Koen Ridder of Germany in their opening encounter.

However, former national pair Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen will have it tough against Han Sang Hoon-Hwang Ji Man of South Korea today.

NST

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