KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- Barring any upsets, World number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei and China's Lin Dan are expected to meet in the men's singles final of the World Championships to be held in Wembley, London from Aug 8-14.
In the latest world rankings released, Chong Wei and Lin Dan were seeded first and second respectively and if both live up to their top billings, they will meet in the final.
Chong Wei as the top seed was drawn in the top half while Lin Dan, the second seed and world number two will start at the bottom half.
This will be the fourth time that Chong Wei is seeded top in the world meet but unfortunately, he has failed to live up to his world No. 1 tag at the last three occasions in Madrid (2006), Hyderabad (2009) and Paris (2010).
Lin Dan was the top seed at the 2007 world meet in Kuala Lumpur.
Two other title contenders - Denmark's Peter-Gade Christensen and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, were seeded third and fourth respectively.
"Chong Wei will however, need to focus on every match and not underestimate his opponents, especially those from China," singles head coach Rashid Sidek told reporters after the draw.
If Chong Wei meets Lin Dan in the final, it will be their third big match-up of the year between the archrivals.
At the South Korea Open in January, Lin Dan defeated Chong Wei in the final while the Malaysian exacted revenge over the three-time world champion at the All-England final.
Chong Wei will open his campaign against unknown Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand before facing a more serious threat from Park Sung Hwan of South Korea and Chen Long from China who are also in the same half.
His semi-final opponent is expected to be either Taufik Hidayat from Indonesia or Chen Jin of China.
Rashid said based on Chong Wei's current form, this year would be his best opportunity to win the elusive title.
Meanwhile, in the men's doubles, Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong, last year's losing finalist in Paris, were seeded fourth and expected to meet Chinese pair Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan in the second round after being given a bye in the first round.
The top three seeds are defending champions Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng of China, Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark (second) and South Koreans Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung.
The country's second ranked pair Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif/Thien How Hoon will face 2005 world champions Howard Bach/Tony Gunawan from United States in the first round.
In the latest world rankings released, Chong Wei and Lin Dan were seeded first and second respectively and if both live up to their top billings, they will meet in the final.
Chong Wei as the top seed was drawn in the top half while Lin Dan, the second seed and world number two will start at the bottom half.
This will be the fourth time that Chong Wei is seeded top in the world meet but unfortunately, he has failed to live up to his world No. 1 tag at the last three occasions in Madrid (2006), Hyderabad (2009) and Paris (2010).
Lin Dan was the top seed at the 2007 world meet in Kuala Lumpur.
Two other title contenders - Denmark's Peter-Gade Christensen and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, were seeded third and fourth respectively.
"Chong Wei will however, need to focus on every match and not underestimate his opponents, especially those from China," singles head coach Rashid Sidek told reporters after the draw.
If Chong Wei meets Lin Dan in the final, it will be their third big match-up of the year between the archrivals.
At the South Korea Open in January, Lin Dan defeated Chong Wei in the final while the Malaysian exacted revenge over the three-time world champion at the All-England final.
Chong Wei will open his campaign against unknown Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand before facing a more serious threat from Park Sung Hwan of South Korea and Chen Long from China who are also in the same half.
His semi-final opponent is expected to be either Taufik Hidayat from Indonesia or Chen Jin of China.
Rashid said based on Chong Wei's current form, this year would be his best opportunity to win the elusive title.
Meanwhile, in the men's doubles, Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong, last year's losing finalist in Paris, were seeded fourth and expected to meet Chinese pair Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan in the second round after being given a bye in the first round.
The top three seeds are defending champions Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng of China, Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark (second) and South Koreans Lee Yong-dae/Jung Jae-sung.
The country's second ranked pair Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif/Thien How Hoon will face 2005 world champions Howard Bach/Tony Gunawan from United States in the first round.
-- BERNAMA
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