Lin Dan To Play At All-England, Confirm England BA - Fancy seeing Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei taking on China’s Lin Dan at the All-England in Birmingham from March 7-12?
Well, your wish is about to come true.
While world No. 1 Chong Wei had confirmed his entry much earlier, the inclusion of world No. 6 Lin Dan has come a big surprise.
The England BA confirmed on their website – www.allenglandbadminton.com – on Friday that two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan had entered for the tournament. The closing date for entry was Jan 24.
Lin Dan’s last international tournament was the Rio Olympic Games last August. Then, he lost to Chong Wei in the semi-finals and to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the bronze medal playoff.
The All-England will also be Chong Wei’s first Superseries appearance in four months, having skipped last year’s French Open, Hong Kong Open and China Open due to injury.
This could well be the last time these two badminton giants come face-to-face in the All-England.
Although no official announcements have been made, it is widely acknowledged that Chong Wei and Lin Dan are on the last lap of their badminton careers and both are likely to call it a day after the World Championships in Glasgow in August.
Lin Dan has won six All-England titles while Chong Wei has won it three times.
They have played against each other in the All-England three times, with the record favouring the China shuttler 2-1.
Lin Dan won in 2009 and Chong Wei exacted revenge in 2011. In 2012, Chong Wei was forced to retire with an injury.
The two have played against each other 37 times in the last decade, with Lin Dan winning 25 of those clashes.
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