CHANGZHOU, Jiangsu Province, Sept. 16 -- Olympic and world champion Lin Dan was off to a flying start at the China Masters badminton event here on Wednesday, easing past teammate Qiu Yanbo 21-13, 21-13 in the men's singles first round.
China's Lin Dan returns a shuttle during men's singles first round match against his compatriot Qiu Yanbo at 2009 China Badminton Masters Super Series in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 16, 2009. Lin won 2-0.
Men's singles world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia also booked a second round berth in a one-sided match where the 27-year-old pushed aside Asian champion Lu Qicheng, a Changzhou local, 21-8, 21-16.
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei returns a shuttle during men's singles first round match against China's Lu Qicheng at 2009 China Badminton Masters Super Series in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 16, 2009. Lee won 2-0.
Lin, turning 26 on Monday, smashed 22 winners and proved to be a more consistent player to win 42 of the 68 rallies in the 32-minute match.
"I think Qiu is a little bit nervous today maybe because he wanted to do a good job in his hometown," said Lin, who had scored a badminton grand slam -- winning the Beijing Olympics, three world championships, two Thomas Cup and two Sudirman Cup team events.
"He can do really well when we train in the national team but competition is so much different from practice," he added.
China's Qiu Yanbo returns a shuttle during men's singles first round match against his compatriot Lin Dan at 2009 China Badminton Masters Super Series in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 16, 2009. Qiu lost 0-2.
Denmark's fifth seed Joachim Persson breezed past Chinese Liu Jingru 21-16, 21-15 before South Korea's Asian champion Park Sung Hwan, seeded sixth, worked his way to the second round by beating youth world champion Wang Zhengming 21-18, 22-20.
Joachim Persson of Denmark returns a shot during the men's singles match against China's Liu Jingru at 2009 China Masters in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, on Sept. 16, 2009. Persson won 2-0.
"I felt I had a chance to win but lacked changes during the match," said the 19-year-old Chinese.
Mixed doubles pair Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama and Hoi Wah Chau became the first high-profile casualties at the China Masters badminton tournament here on Wednesday.
They were followed by sixth-seeded Songphon Anugritayawon/Kunchala Voravichitchaikul from Thailand who lost to Ko Sung Hyun/Ha Jung Eun of South Korea 21-8, 21-17.
2009 South Korean Open bronze medallists Wiratama and Chau from Hong Kong, China were surprised by Chinese teenage pair Chai Biao and Xia Huan 21-17, 21-19 in 30 minutes in the first round of the super series event.
"It is the first time we played this pair," said Chau. Chau and Wiratama, seeded number four here, defeated Chai Biao and Bao Yixin in May's National Games qualifier before they booked a place in the final to be held in October in Shandong province.
Unlike many other Chinese players who took the Masters as a tune-up for the National Games, Chau said it was just a normal tournament for them and complained about the judge.
"I don't think the judges are very good," she said.
In women's singles, world number one Zhou Mi clinched the expected victory over South Korean Jang soo Young 21-15, 21-18.
Changzhou native Lu Lan eased into the women's singles second round as the fifth seed brushed aside compatriot Zhu Lin 21-13, 21-9.
(Xinhua)
