Lee Chong Wei got his All England campaign off to a positive start after breezing past France’s Brice Leverdez to book his spot in the second round of the tournament.
The world number one is hunting for his fourth All England title this year, though the occassion is a bit more special given that this could be his final appearance in Birmingham.
“You always want to win when you come to All England. Before this I got an injury, but I really wanted to come because this is my favourite tournament and I want to try my best this year,” he said after the win over Leverdez.
Video Reaction | Malaysia superstar @LeeChongWei talks to us after a comfortable Round 1 win against @BriceLeverdez1 at #YAE17 pic.twitter.com/KmEC2LRSOR
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) March 8, 2017
“This tournament is great and there’s a lot of fans here. And this is either my last or second last All England, so I really hope to be able to enjoy it this year,” he added.
Having booked his second round spot, the Malaysian icon will next face Taiwan’s Wang Tzu-wei at the Barclaycard Arena later today.
Meanwhile, Chong Wei’s arch rival Lin Dan also breezed into the second round after he outclassed Malaysia’s Zulfadhli Zulkifli in just 30 minutes. The former world number one clinched the first set 21-11, before winning the second one 21-12 to set-up a second round bout against compatriot Huang Yuxiang.
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