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The final Superseries tournament before the end of the qualification period for the Rio Olympics is the Singapore Open, the main draw of which begins from Wednesday. The top seeds will thus be determined to put their best foot forward at this event.
Here’s a look at the top five contenders for the men’s singles title:
Chen Long – top seed
With an early loss at the All England Championships and a final defeat at the Malaysia Open last Sunday, the World No. 1 Chen Long’s 2016 season surely has not gone the way he would have liked. The 27-year-old must be desperate to get back to winning ways with the Rio Olympics just four months away now.
The draw at the Singapore Open might just come to his rescue as his latest conqueror – the former World No. 1 and the reigning Malaysia Open champion Lee Chong Wei – is not playing at this tournament.
Besides, the Chinese has another motivation. He would be eager to obliterate the bitter memories of last year’s second round defeat at the hands of Hong Kong shuttler Hu Yun.
He starts against India’s Swiss Open winner, HS Prannoy.
Lin Dan – second seed
Never count out a champion despite his struggles! The two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan bowed out earlier than expected in his last two assignments at the India Open and the Malaysia Open. But before that, the legend annexed his sixth All England title, besides emerging victorious at the German Open as well.
The results have been up and down and consistency is definitely found wanting from the 32-year-old’s racquet. But on his given day, the veteran southpaw can still give the youngsters a run for their money as was evident at Birmingham.
The second seed begins his challenge against the World No. 32 Ihsan Maulana Mustofa of Indonesia.
Viktor Axelsen – fourth seed
For all his early promise, the 22-year-old Viktor Axelsen still has not been able to break the duck in Superseries finals, despite reaching a whopping six of them. All he probably needs is a slice of luck. And if the Singapore Open once again witnesses a carnage of the top seeds like it did in 2015, the young Dane might just have his way.
Without a doubt, Axelsen has been in pretty good form this year and has reached the final of the India Open, besides two other Superseries quarter-finals. That shows he will not surrender easily.
The fourth seed will be locking horns with Hong Kong’s Wei Nan in his opener.
Tian Houwei – sixth seed
24-year-old Tian Houwei has been steadily rising up the ranks for some time now. But this year, he proved he has definitely come of age after reaching the final at the All England Championships. Even though, he did go down to his more illustrious compatriot Lin Dan, the experience will definitely stand him in good stead in the upcoming major tournaments.
He can surely rattle the draw and if things fall into place, he can even claim his maiden Superseries crown.
The sixth seed will meet Japanese Takuma Ueda in the first round and in the second round, he is likely to meet his old foe Kidambi Srikanth, a player he has defeated six times in the past one year.
Tommy Sugiarto – eighth seed
It always helps coming back to your scene of triumph. The memories themselves can boost the spirit and morale of a former winner to produce his very best again.
For Indonesia’s World No. 9 Tommy Sugiarto, that is exactly what he needs. Since stealing the show at the Premier Badminton League (PBL) in India and reaching the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters, he has not been able to somehow reach those heights again.
However, he has been a champion at the Singapore Open in 2013 and the familiar conditions might just aid in his resurgence. His potential quarter-final opponent Lin Dan too cannot intimidate him as the Indonesian got the better of the Chinese twice in 2015.
The eighth seed will kick off his campaign against qualifier Kenta Nishimoto.
