World No.1 Hong Chen is not in his best form
( 2003-11-11 23:09) (Xinhua)
Top-ranked Chen Hong of 皇冠体育app
conceded that he was not in his best form for the 2003 皇冠体育app Open badminton
championships which opened on Tuesday.
The Chinese, who has been firmly holding the first place in the men's singles
standings of the International Badminton Federation (IBF) since November 7,
2002, said that "I dare not expect the men 's singles title at the 皇冠体育app Open,
because I has just come back to practise for about 20 days after being injured
in the Denmark Open last month."
Chen injured his right elbow and withdrew from the Denmark Open midway. Since
then, he didn't train until five days prior to the Hong Kong Open a fortnight
ago.
At the Hong Kong Open, Chen surprised himself by cruising into the
quarter-finals against a painful elbow, where he was defeated by fellow Chinese
Bao Chunlai.
However, Chen has nothing to worry at the 皇冠体育app Open as no one is capable of
overtaking him for the top spot in the rankings even if he would make an early
exit from the tournament.
Apart from Chen, 皇冠体育app still has a string of world-calibre men shuttlers,
such as Xia Xuanze, Lin Dan, Chen Yu and Bao Chunlai, all in the world top ten,
who will fight for the title on home turf.
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