AFP, Jakarta :
World number one Chen Long said Sunday he hopes to clinch a second straight badminton world crown in Indonesia next week, but women’s defending champion Carolina Marin is less confident after returning from injury just a fortnight ago.
Chen, 26, is in superb form having swept four titles this year and enters the Jakarta tournament a convincing top seed, with Danish star Jan O Jorgensen a distant second.
The Chinese shuttler has been laying solid groundwork for another gold medal since defeating Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei in Copenhagen last year to snag his first world title. “It just gave me really a lot of confidence,” Chen, speaking via a translator, told reporters in Jakarta.
“I really hope to get my second singles world championship this year.”
He won’t cross top rivals Lee or fellow countryman Lin Dan in the early stages-they are in different halves of the draw-and is expected to cruise to the quarter-finals without incident.
But things have not gone as smoothly for women’s world number one Marin, who nearly missed badminton’s most prestigious event after suffering a foot injury a month ago.
