World badminton championships: Lee in top form, holder Chen begins title defence

Former world number one registers convincing win in second round.

JAKARTA: Lee Chong Wei claimed his first proper scalp at the world championships in Jakarta on Wednesday, defeating 12th seed Marc Zwiebler so convincingly that the German declared his Malaysian opponent ready to win his first world crown.

Lee, who has settled for silver at the last three world championships, blew away Zwiebler 21-14, 17-21, 21-8 to book a spot in the third round.

Lee only returned to the badminton circuit in May after being slapped with a ban for doping, and enters the world championships unseeded for the first time in years.

Zwiebler, who is close friends with Lee, said the Malaysian had clearly returned to former glory during his eight-month hiatus and was the “best player” in the field to take on the Chinese juggernauts Chen Long and Lin Dan.

“He is an almost perfect player. He doesn’t have a weak spot,” he told reporters. “If he is ready to put away the pressure, and focus on his strengths, then definitely he can be champion.”

Meanwhile, world number one Chen Long’s bid to defend his world crown got off to a strong start on Wednesday with the Chinese star dismissing Estonia’ Raul Must in Jakarta.

Top seed Chen, who was given an opening-round bye, defeated unseeded Must 21-15, 21-7, to breeze into the third round of the tournament.

Chen, who has already won four titles this season, wasn’t getting ahead of himself, however, and stressed he would take one match at a time. “Today there are many good players,” the 26-year-old told reporters. “They could all win. I will be focusing on playing well in each round.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2015.

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