Lin Dan of China competes in the men's singles first round match during the All England in Birmingham, England, March 11, 2020. /VCG
China's two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan, fighting for his fifth Olympic appearance, edged an opponent half his age 13-21, 22-20 and 21-10 in the opening round at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Lin, 36, was drawn to play against Thai hopeful Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the men's singles first round. The 18-year-old Vitidsarn has shown his potential by clinching three junior world champion titles in a row and gave the Chinese veteran a scare by winning the opening game 21-13.
But the six-time All England champion Lin managed to fight back with his experience and unpredictable smashes, setting up a second round encounter with compatriot Chen Long.
Chen Long of China competes in the men's singles first round match against Kidambi Srikanth of India during the All England in Birmingham, England, March 11, 2020. /VCG
The reigning Olympic champion Chen ousted Indian Skrikanth Kidambi 21-15 and 21-16.
"The opponent has played against me many times. We are familiar. I won today because I had better luck," said the 31-year-old third seed.
The men's singles top seed Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei beat Mark Caljouw of Netherlands 21-19, 21-17. Denmark's second seed Viktor Axelsen ousted Thai player Sitthikom Thammasin 21-15, 21-13.
Interestingly, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the players are not allowed to shake hands in the tournament.
Chen Yufei of China competes in the women's singles first round match during the All England in Birmingham, England, March 11, 2020. /VCG
On the women's side, China's defending champion Chen Yufei got past An Se-young of South Korea despite losing the opening game 21-14. But the world number one fought back in the second, winning with the same scoreline and forcing a decider.
Reigning Olympic Champion Carolina Marin will meet Chinese teenager Wang Zhiyi in the second round, after beating another Chinese player Zhang Yiman.
The Chinese holds an all-winning record in the pair's last three meetings, and kept it intact as she won the third game 21-15, moving into the second round in three games. Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan is her next rival.
(With input from Xinhua)