MACAU OPEN 2011 – No Lin, No Chong Wei

The first day of the Kumpoo Macau Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championships saw all seeds advance to the next round in the men’s singles – the only category in which main draw matches were played on day one. Taufik Hidayat saw off Huang Chao from Singapore in three games, losing the first one 26-28 before clinching the other two 21-8, 21-16.

But the main news of this first day was probably the disappointment of all fans who had hoped to see another clash between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, after the two battles they fought in Hong Kong and Shanghai this month. The two shuttlers, involved in last Saturday’s semi-final didn’t make the trip to Macau and leave Taufik (seeded 3rd) and Du Pengyu (seeded 4th) as main favourites for the tournament, with Simon Santoso and other big names eager to prove the ranking wrong.

The top two seeds in the women’s singles, Jiang Yanjiao and Wang Shixian, will be playing on Wednesday – they were seen in Shanghai Pudong Airport ready to board their plane to Macau. They will be joined by Han Li and Chen Xiaojia, who came through the qualification round on Tuesday.

All results HERE