Chinese badminton star Lin Dan recently lost his men's singles title at the All-England Open. (Photo : Getty Images)
World no. 3 Lin Dan of China escaped a three-set scare from world no. 36 Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malaysia, 16-21, 21-18, and 21-16, in the opening round of the 2016 Indonesia Open on Wednesday at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
Lin, a former world no. 1, became China's best bet in the tournament after current world top-ranked Chen Long withdrew before his first round encounter with Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro because of a back injury, Xinhuanet reported.
The Longyan, China native advanced in the second round and will be facing 19th-ranked Jonatan Christie also of Indonesia, who defeated Taiwanese shuttler Hsu Jen-hao in the first round, 21-12, 21-19.
Zulkiffli, the former world junior champion who reached the competition's main draw after surviving in the pre-tournament qualifiers, gave Lin a tough fight by taking the first set before the two-time Olympic gold medal winner and five-time World Champion showed his true form in the next two sets.
The United States-born Malaysian badminton player was reportedly "satisfied with his efforts" even with the loss as he had been looking forward to competing with the world's best since his senior career began.
"I'm very happy and proud with how I played today," Zulkiffli said, as per The Star. "I finally got to play against Lin Dan. He showed me today why he's such a fantastic shuttler. I couldn't match his strength and speed."
The 23-year-old right-hander had been prolific in his junior career, winning gold medals in the Boys' Singles and Mixed Team divisions during the 2011 Taipei World Junior Championships. He also won gold medals in the Asian Junior Championships and Commonwealth Youth Games both in Boys' Singles all in the same year.
"But what else could I ask for? I managed to steal a game from him. It's a great experience. That's the kind of confidence boost I need to take on the world's top 10 players," he added.
In other Men's Singles results, Lin's compatriot, Huang Yuxiang, pulled of an upset over fourth-seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in their first round matchup. The score was tied at 1 set apiece after both men claimed identical 21-16 victories with the Chinese taking the second set.
However, Axelsen withdrew in the final set, with Huang leading 8-4, as he could no longer continue due to a flu.
