PETALING JAYA: Do not be surprised if this year’s All-England men’s singles produces an unlikely champion.
With Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen and Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia both absent, and several leading contenders struggling for consistency, the race for the title in Birmingham looks unusually wide open in the oldest tournament starting tomorrow.
Axelsen, the 2020 winner, and Zii Jia, who captured the crown in 2021, failed to qualify for the Super 1000 event after their rankings slipped during injury layoffs.
The Dane is now ranked No. 50 while Zii Jia has dropped to No. 64.
Heading the seeds are China’s two-time champion Shi Yuqi, Thailand’s world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, defending champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, and Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, but none arrive with the aura of dominance once synonymous with the event.
This time, French players Alex Lanier and Christo Popov are lurking dangerously while Japan's Yushi Tanaka, Indonesia's Alwi Farhan, and Ayush Shetty of India are looking for breakthroughs.
China's Li Shifeng had also won the title in 2023 but he has not be living up to his stature of late.
The others with a shot are Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan, Japan's Kodai Naraoka and India's Lakshya Sen.
The contrast is stark compared to the era ruled by Datuk Seri Lee Chong Wei and China’s Lin Dan.
Lin Dan remains the most successful men’s singles player in the modern era with six All-England titles (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016), while Chong Wei claimed four crowns (2010, 2011, 2017 and 2021) during one of badminton’s greatest rivalries.
Chong Wei misses the good old days.
"Those were the good times as we used to battle it out for titles very often. Only a few were dominant during that era," said Chong Wei.
"I don’t see a two-way rivalry anymore, or even three. It’s quite open nowadays."
Malaysia will be represented solely by Leong Jun Hao, and Chong Wei was candid about the youngster’s chances.
"On current form, I don’t see Jun Hao going beyond the quarter-finals, but I would like to see him fight without giving up easily,” he said.
"I know our men's singles is under pressure, even the coaches are feeling the heat.
"That's normal but I hope we can bring back the good times in the singles," added Chong Wei, who is now the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) performance committee chairman.
