Badminton: Lee on hat-trick bid

PETALING JAYA: National number one Lee Chong Wei will get the chance to go on an equal footing with China's Lin Dan for the first time in the Super Series at the Danish Open.

After solid preparation over the last two weeks, Chong Wei is fired up to give a good showing in the ninth leg of the Series, which begins tomorrow in Odense.

If Chong Wei wins the title, he will have the same number of Super Series titles as Lin Dan – three. Chong Wei was the winner in Indonesia (sixth leg) and Japan (eighth) while the Chinese triumphed in South Korea Open (second), All-England (third) and China Open (seventh).

Chong Wei, who celebrated his 25th birthday two days ago, is the second seed behind Lin Dan in the Danish Open and will strive for greater consistency.

“It has been up and down for me thus far. I did well in the Japan Open (last month) but lost meekly in the Taiwan Open (a week later). I want to be more consistent from the Danish Open onwards,” said Chong Wei, who is also down to compete in the 10th leg of the Series, the French Open next week.

“I am happy with my preparation for both the Europe tournaments. I have given a lot of emphasis on my physical condition. It is good that I am free from injury. And I hope to keep it that way.”

Chong Wei has a challenging draw in the Danish Open but he said that it had not douse his fire to win the title for the second time. Lin Dan did not play in the 2005 tournament when Chong Wei emerged as the champion.