5 Men's Singles contenders at the All England Championships

Modified Mar 06, 2016 15:16 IST

We are just 2 days away from the start of the latest edition of the All England Championships In Birmingham. The tournament assumes larger significance this year, as players from across the globe look to qualify for the Rio Olympics in August.Here’s a look at the Top men’s Singles contenders.Note: The dark horse include Kidambi Srikanth, Viktor Axelson, Tommy Sugiarto and Chou Tien Chen.

#5 Lin Dan

32-years-old, but it still seems as though China’s Lin Dan is hungry for more. Having begun his career as an 18-year-old in 2001, he has won everything there is to win in the circuit and will be looking to win his 4th title in Birmingham and his 1st in 4 years.

The two-time Olympic medalist had an indifferent 2015 by his standards and will look to kickstart his preparations to win a 3rd consecutive Olympic Gold medal on a positive note at the All England Championships.

#4 Jan O Jorgenson

Denmark and badminton have had a strong connect for a very long time and carrying that superb tradition of producing excellent players is Jan O Jorgenson. The 28-year-old had a good 2015, where he clinched the German Open, before reaching the finals of the All England Championships and taking home the bronze at the World Championships.

He had a good outing at the Australian and the Malaysian Open as well where he reached the semifinals and will hope to go one step further this time around in Birmingham.

#3 Lee Chong Wei

The badminton circuit has seen the emergence of many a new star in the last few years, however, one man, who has been going strong has been the Malaysian Lee Chong Wei. The 33-year-old will enter into the competition as a favourite, even though 2015 proved to be a mixed bag for him.

He won the silver medal at the World Championships in Jakarta, but following that, was knocked out in the initial stages of three competitions consecutively(Japan Open, Korea Open and the Denmark Open).

However, he made up for those losses by winning three straight titles, in France, China and Hong Kong. the triumph at China assumed larger significance since it made the first ever player to win every Superseries competition. But just when it looked like things were on the upswing, disappointment came his way again as he failed to make it through to the Dubai Superseries Finals.

While the Malaysian may not be the player that he was a few years back, there is no reason to count him out as he gears up to lift the title at Birmingham for the third time in his career.

#2 Kento Momota

It wouldn't be wrong to say that 2015 was the year when Kento Momota transformed from a player who won the odd tournament to the man who competed against the best. The 21-year-old won two Superseries titles in Malaysia and Singapore and was part of the team that clinched the silver medal at the Sudirman Cup.

Early indications that he was maturing as a player were seen at World Championships in August when he clinched the bronze medal and those vibes gained momentum at the very end of 2015, he won Gold at the Dubai Superseries Finals, defeating Viktor Axelson in the summit clash to win his maiden Superseries Finals title.

He already has a medal in 2016, albeit in team event, playing part in Japan winning the silver medal at the Asian Badminton Championships in Hyderabad.

Momota reached the quarterfinals of the previous edition of the All England Championships, where he lost to Lin Dan and he will be looking to go all the way this year.

#1 Chen Long

You wouldn't want to look beyond Chen Long for an outright favourite to retain the All England Championships. The 27-year-old, like Novak Djokovic in tennis, has ruled the badminton circuit for a quite some time now, and will head into the prestigious event looking to win it for a second straight year.

Chen had a superb 2015, where along with All England, he also won the World Championships gold in Jakarta in August. He also clinched 2 Superseries titles in Malaysia and Australia, but faltered in the semifinals of year-ending Dubai Superseries Finals, losing to Viktor Axelson of Denmark.

This being the Olympic year would mean that Chen would be choosy about the tournaments in which he competes to keep himself fresh and the road to win that elusive gold at The Olympics will start for him in Birmingham, starting Tuesday.

Edited by Staff Editor