Chen Long has been below-par this season and has only won one title - the Korean Open in January - AFP
COPENHAGEN; China’s Chen Long has vowed to put behind his miserable run by making a strong comeback at the Ballerup Super Arena.
At the 2011 world meet in Wembley, he went down to a humiliating first-round defeat to unknown Kevin Cordon of Guatemala.
The two-time world junior champion then bounced back after the debacle and won a number of Superseries tournaments, including the 2012 China Masters, Denmark Open and last year’s All-England.
En route to these titles, he had beaten compatriot Lin Dan and also world No 1. Lee Chong Wei to prove that he still has what it takes.
And on Monday, the world No. 2 Chen Long revealed he has learnt some new techniques to put himself back as one of the title contenders in his third attempt.
He had come under heavy criticism after losing to Kenichi Tago in the first singles against Japan in the semi-finals of the Thomas Cup Finals in May. It subsequently led to China losing 3-0.
This year, except for the Korean Open victory in January, Chen Long failed to chalk up any outstanding results.
“I have been training hard after the Thomas Cup disappointment. I have improvised my game and I am looking forward to unleash it here,” said Chen Long confidently.
Chen Long starts his campaign with a first-round meeting against Luka Wraber of Austria on Tuesday.
China are banking on Chen Long to keep their proud tradition in the men’s singles. The others in the fray are former world junior champions Wang Zhengming and Tian Houwei.
China have won the men’s singles title in every series since the 2006 edition in Madrid. Lin Dan won five of them while Chen Jin triumphed in Paris (2010).
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