Olympic badminton champion Chen Long expected to play against Lin Dan at the 13th National Games, billed as China's mini Olympics. [Special coverage]
The badminton competitions at the National Games includes men's and women's team events, singles and doubles events.
Chen, 28, representing the team of Fujian province, came from behind to beat Gao Xiangfu of Sichuan province 15-21, 21-9, 21-9 in the second round of group match in men's team event here on Thursday.
It was Chen's first match at the Games as he was absent from yesterday's first round. Chen was defeated by Axelsen in the semifinals of the World Championships last week, after which he and his national teammates came back directly from Glasgow, Scotland to Tianjin, 140 kilometers southeast of Beijing, the host city of China's 13th National Games.
"I'm still in jet leg. We stayed in Glasgow for 13 days and just got adjusted to the local time. So I didn't perform well in the first match of the National Games, but I believe I will play better afterwards," said Chen.
According to the draw, the 33-year-old Lin will have a possible clash with Chen in the semifinals of the men's singles and Chen admits this will a meeting he most expects.
"At the National Games, the shuttler I want to play against most is definitely Lin Dan," said Chen.
Lin, a two-time Olympic and five-time world champion, is always dominant in the National Games, held every four years. He has participated in four National Games since 2001 and entered all of the four men's singles finals. He won gold medals in 2005, 2009 and 2013, and will fight for a fourth consecutive crown at the Games for yet another record.
Chen never won the gold medal at the National Games. Four years ago at the National Games, Chen had a lackluster performance as he only reached the quarterfinals in the men's singles. However, this year Chen beat Lin for two consecutive times, including the victory in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships.
