Copenhagen: Badminton A-listers Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan, and Chen Long will play their first round of Denmark Open on Wednesday, but they aren’t the only big names hanging out around the Odense Sports Park.
Saina Nehwal, Carolina Marin, Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong, Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan and total of 293 shuttlers from around the world will also compete in the Denmark Open that offered USD $600,000 in total prize money.
Former World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei will play No. 8 seed Parupalli Kashyap in the opener, probably Wei Nan of Hong Kong in the second round. Should he advances to quarter-finals, Lee Chong Wei faces a mouthwatering contest against No. 1 seed Chen Long for a spot in the semi-finals.
Local favorite Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark who won the Denmark Open in is also set to challenge the men’s singles crown. However, the No. 2 seed is to face a stern test in the first round after being drawn to play Wang Zhengming of China on Wednesday.
In the women’s singles draw, No. 1 seed Saina Nehwal from India and No.2 seed Spaniard Carolina Marin are among the favorites. Saina Nehwal could possibly play either No. 4 seed Li Xuerui or No. 5 seed Wang Shixian in the semi-finals, while Carolina Marin could face No. 6 seed Wang Yihan, or No. 3 seed Tai Tzu Ying en route to potential final.
World No. 1 men’s pair Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong will be seeking their fourth Superseries title of the year in Copenhagen. The Koreans pair will kick off their Denmark opener against Danish players Mads Conrad-Petersen/Mads Pieler Kolding.
However, the 2015 Denmark Open draw is tough on Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia. The Malaysian men’s pair faces a nightmare route to the second round in which they will have to play No. 4 seeds Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark in the men’s doubles first round.
The Denmark Open is one of Denmark’s oldest sporting events, with the inaugural edition being held in 1935. This year, the tournament will be held from October 13 to October 18.
