Chen Long in the game.

World champion Chen Long began his defense of the title at the Super Series finals in Dubai with performances on and off court that helped make up for the absence of his legendary compatriot Lin Dan.

Chen delivered a composed and versatile performance in a 21-13, 21-13 victory over teammate, Tian Houwei, and handled yet another of the many questions referring to the missing Olympic champion with diplomatic good humor.

The bases of Chen's victory over Tian, Lin's late replacement, included a confidence in coping with the slightly drifty conditions in the same arena where he won last year, and a relaxed willingness to accept whatever outcome, a relatively new psychological skill for him.

Chen has become very much his own man now, and he was prepared to answer whether he thought Lin would be missed. "Don't say that — Lin Dan won't be happy with it," he said, elaborating more seriously by adding "every athlete sometimes doesn't feel well".

Actually Chen admits to being not in the best shape himself after a hard year of touring, and was critical of his performance. "I'm expected to win but I don't feel pressure," Chen said, concluding with a dash of wisdom. "There are only two possible results, and I have the confidence to accept failure if I lose."

Refusal to accept failure characterized the performance of Ratchanok Intanon, the 20-year-old former world champion from Thailand, who stunningly saved four match points in a 19-21, 23-21, 21-14 victory over Sung Ji-hyun, the world No. 4 from South Korea.

Earlier, the other world No. 1, Carolina Marin of Spain, had to come from behind in the first game before starting impressively with a 21-16, 21-9 win over Tai Tzu-ying, the women's singles Super Series titleholder from Chinese Taipei.

Former world champion Wang Yihan won an opener against Chinese teammate, the former world No. 1 Wang Shixian, 21-19, 13-21, 21-3, though both can still qualify from their group.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)