KUALA LUMPUR: In last year’s world badminton champio
nships, Badminton World Federation (BWF) granted Lin Dan a wild card so he could compete in the tournament. The Olympic champion from China ended up winning his fifth world title after first coming from a game down and then overturning a 10-6 final game deficit to force his great rival, and good friend, Lee Chong Wei to retire at 20-17 down in another epic Lee Chong Wei vs. Lin Dan showdown.
This year, badminton fans who are expecting another ultimate Lee vs. Lin battle would be disappointed because the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has confirmed on Thursday that they will not be awarding a wild card to any player for this year’s edition of the World Championships in Copenhagen in August.
BWF will make the official announcement on Friday.
With the absence of Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei has a high chance to become the first Malaysian to capture the world championships title.
However, Lee Chong Wei’s coach, Rashid Sidek, has played down the chances of Chong Wei winning the world title.
“Chong Wei will train hard whether or not Lin Dan is playing. Other tough opponents such as China’s Chen Long and Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen are good enough to caused problems for Chong Wei. Chen Long plays well in big tournament, and Jorgensen has the home court advantage against Chong Wei.” said Rashid.
