PETALING JAYA: Danish badminton star Viktor Axelsen will find himself in the unusual position of being unseeded at the Hong Kong Open, which starts on Monday (Sept 8) in Kowloon.
The 31-year-old, who has dropped to No. 18 in the latest world rankings due to his long absence from competitions, has been placed in the top half of the draw with a tough opening match against Taiwan's world No. 6 Chou Tien-chen.
However, the two-time world and Olympic champion's return from a back injury is expected to spice up the men's singles competition.
Axelsen, who last competed in the All-England in March, is also coming into the event as the defending champion, having beaten China's surprise finalist Lei Lanxi to win the title last year.
He will also play in the China Masters just after the Hong Kong tournament from Oct 16-21 in Shenzhen.
"Looking forward to getting back on court in Hong Kong and China," said Axelsen via social media.
In the absence of China's newly crowned world champion Shi Yuqi and Axelsen's teammate, world No. 2 Anders Antonsen, who have both opted to skip the tournament in Hong Kong, Axelsen will be one of the biggest names in the men's singles draw along with Thailand's world No. 3 Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Kunlavut, who is the top seed and also in the top half of the draw, will play China's Wang Zhengxing in the first round.
The other top 10 players in the competition are China's world No. 4 Li Shifeng, Singapore's world No. 8 Loh Kean Yew, Japan's Kodai Naraoka (No. 9) and Frenchman Christo Popov (No. 10).
Malaysia will be represented by Leong Jun Hao, Lee Zii Jia, Justin Hoh, Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin, Cheam June Wei and Teh Jin Hong.
World No. 23 Jun Hao and world No. 47 Zii Jia are set to face each other in an intriguing first-round clash.
The winner of the match will likely take on world No. 13 Toma Junior Popov of France next for a place in the last eight.
Justin, Aidil, June Wei and Jin Hong will all start from the qualifying rounds.
