The spotlight continued to shine on world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei and China’s Lin Dan on the opening day of the World Championships at the Tianhe Gymnasium on Monday.
And both the megastars duly delivered by winning their opening round matches in superb fashion – to the delight of their respective fans.
Top seed Chong Wei defeated Scott Evans of Ireland with a effortless 21-11, 21-15 win while Lin Dan was equally fabulous in his 21-6, 21-9 demolition of Sattawat Pongnairat of the United States.
Chong Wei was in upbeat mood after his sterling show.
“It is not easy to play in this hall and I took advantage of my weaker opponent to get the feel of the venue. I am quite pleased,” said Chong Wei.
“The first day’s proceeding did not go too well today as there were some teething problems like the faulty electronic scoreboard but I am not distracted. It is best that I stay focused on my game.
“I have the best chance to win my first world title here and I intend to take my chances well.”
On his match against Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia in the second round, Chong Wei intends to be cautious.
“I beat him in the semi-finals of the Indonesian Open. He played well and I cannot take this attack-minded player lightly,” he added.
While Chong Wei was in a joyful mood, Lin Dan turned out to be a handful yesterday.
Firstly, he refused interviews but later, he relented and entered the press conference room – escorted by about 20 police officers. He however, promised to keep his momentum going when he takes on Eric Pang of Holland next.
While the stars of the tournament shone bright in their own unique ways, it was a day when Malaysia’s Liew Daren struggled to make an impression on his debut.
He scrapped through with a sloppy 21-18, 20-22, 21-19 win over a lowly ranked Vladimir Malkov of Russia.
He had a 17-13 lead in the second game but the jitters got to him as he allowed the Russian to force a decider.
“It is my first world championships and I was naturally nervous. And as a result, I was making all kind of mistakes. Fortunately, I got back into the groove in the third game,” said Daren.
Daren will take on Singapore’s Derek Wong who beat Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia 24-22, 21-16.
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