China's Lin Dan is man to beat at badminton world championships

PARIS — 'Super Dan' will be again the man to beat at the badminton world championships next week. Lin Dan of China is the only player in badminton history to have won three straight world titles. But Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who is chasing his first world title, hopes to end Lin's dominance. The top-seeded Lee will go into the event high on confidence: he has won six tournaments this year and is on a 16-match winning streak. Lee has a losing record (6-14) against Lin but he still remains the player with the most wins over the reigning world and Olympic champion. The Malaysian, however, will face many hurdles on his path to the title. He could meet Jan Jorgensen of Denmark in the third round, 2004 Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the quarterfinals and Lin in the semifinals. Lee will play Kevin Cordon of Guatemala in the first round on Monday while Lin takes on Ali Shah Hosseini of Iran. In the bottom half of the draw, Peter Gade of Denmark will be Europe's best chance of winning the title. The reigning European champion could meet Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the quarters and 2009 world runner-up Chen Jin of China in the semis. Gade is the only European ranked in the Top 10 and the last player to have defeated Lin. No European has won the men's world title since Peter Rasmussen of Denmark in 1997. In the women's singles, neither reigning world champion Lu Lan nor world runner-up Xie Xingfang will be representing China at the event. Second-seeded Saina Nehwal of India will try to break the hegemony of China, which has won the last six world titles. The 20-year-old Nehwal is having a breakthrough season: she has won three tournaments this year and is on a 15-match winning streak. Nehwal could play Wang Shixian of China in the quarters and then either 2009 bronze medalist Pi Hongyan of France or third-seeded Wang Xin of China, who has an 18-2 record this year. In the top half of the draw, world No. 1 Wang Yihan could face fellow Chinese Lin Wang in the quarters and fourth-seeded Tine Baun of Denmark in the semis. Wang is still the top-ranked player on the back of her outstanding results in 2009 but she hasn't won any tournament this year. Baun is the reigning European champion and is on a 14-match winning streak. The championships being held at Stade Pierre de Coubertin will start on Monday and finish on August 29. – AP