Lin Dan takes on Emil Holst in the Men's singles third round of the ongoing German Open Grand Prix Gold 2017 tournament in Mulheim on Thursday (Friday morning, Singapore time).
The third seed, who is playing his first tournament after a medal-less campaign at 2016 Rio Games, has been untroubled and has spent only a little over than an hour over his first two rounds.
Lin made light work of India's Siril Verma 21-13, 21-10 in the opening round and eased past Poland's unseeded shuttler Mateusz Dubowski 21-14, 21-16 in the second round to fix his clash with Holst.
The Chinese legend would want brush aside lower-ranked opponents quickly and save himself for the tougher clashes ahead. While he is expected to easily outclass the Danish shuttler, ranked 40, the two-time Olympic champion is likely to face either sixth seed Chou Tian Chen or 16th seed Anders Antonsen in the quarter-final tomorrow.
Two matches should have been enough for Lin to brush aside rustiness, if there was any, after a long layoff from the international circuit. The four-time champion might have a potential clash with compatriot and reigning Olympic champion Chen Long if both of them manage to survive till Sunday and a win in the title match of his season-opener will give the veteran a huge boost.
Given his much-awaited participation in the upcoming All England Championships (starting 7 March), the world number six will be determined to make make his mark and gain some valuable match practice in Germany before he heads to Birmingham.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Malaysia: Astro Supersport 3
