MALAYSIA’S singles players will be in a favourable position in the Asian Badminton Championships as China will not be sending their top three shuttlers to the tournament in Kuala Lumpur on April 20-25. World champion Xia Xuanze is China's top name in the tournament as World No 1 Lin Dan, World No 2 Chen Hong and fifth ranked Bao Chunlai will not be competing in the final tournament of the Olympic qualifying period which ends on April 30. Indonesia have also left out their top duo Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Taufik Hidayat, who have already booked their Olympics berth, and this could be the best chance for the Malaysians to end their international title drought this year. Leading Malaysia's charge will be Wong Choong Hann, who wants to win at least a grand prix title as a build-up to his Olympic aspirations. Choong Hann's best achievement this year was a semi-final berth in the Korea Open last week and the absence of Chinese and Indonesian players could work in his favour. If Choong Hann wins in Kuala Lumpur, he is likely to improve his ranking to World No 2. The Asian Championships will also be a good chance for Roslin Hashim and Lee Chong Wei to confirm their places in the Olympics by maintaining their position in the top 16 by the end of the qualifying period. Chong Wei needs to reach at least the quarter-finals in Kuala Lumpur to claim the third singles spot for Malaysia after he failed in the first round of the Japan Open. Hafiz Hashim is another player who would be aiming to end his poor run in the international arena but even the title will not gain him a ticket to Athens. Hafiz is currently ranked World No 30 and he will not even break into the top 20 if he wins the Asian Championships. Despite the advantage, Malaysians should not take the tournament lightly as China would fancy their chances with Xuanze and World No 10 Chen Yu leading their charge. China — Men's singles: Xia Xuanze, Chen Yu, Chen Jin, Zhu Weilun, Hu Yun. Doubles: Sang Yang-Zheng Bo, Chen Qiqiu-Cheng Rui, Xie Zhongbo-Guo Zhendong, Sun Junjie-Xu Chen. Women's singles: Jiang Yanjiao, Chen Li, Chen Lanting, Zhu Lin, Li Wenyan. Doubles: Wei Yili-Zhao Tingting, Du Jing-Yu Yang. Mixed doubles: Chen Qiqiu-Zhao Jiewen, Wang Wei-Zhang Jiewen, Xie Zhongbo-Yu Yang. Taiwan — Men's singles: Chien Yu Hsiu, Hsieh Yu Sing. Doubles: Lin Wei Hsiang-Lee Sung Yuan, Tsai Chia Hsin-Tseng Chung Lin, Huang Shih Chung-Chien Yu Hsun. Women's singles: Cheng Shao Chieh. Doubles: Chien Yu Chin-Cheng Wen Hsing. Mixed doubles: Tsai Chia Hsin-Cheng Wen Shing, Hsieh Yu Hsing-Chien Yu Chin. Nst
