World number nine Chen Long takes on Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long in the Men's singles quarter-final of 2017 Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan on Friday.
The second seed skipped Singapore Open Superseries and also withdrew before facing his quarter-final opponent Vincent Ki Wong in Malaysia Open earlier this month with a wrist injury.
However, the reigning Olympic champion has been playing without any discomfort as he decimated his second-round opponent Takuma Ueda of Japan 21-11, 21-14 a day after he spent 27 minutes to oust Ros Leenard Pedrosa of Russia in the opening round.
Ng, on the other hand, spent only 36 minutes on the court yesterday to decimate Malaysia'a Wei Feng Chong in straight games.
Chen and Ng have met only two time in the past with the latter winning their last clash at 2016 Singapore Open. Another tight encounter is on the cards today as there is very little to separate the two on paper.
While Ng opened the year with a title at Malaysia Masters, he has struggled to find consistency at the Superseries level, with early exits at All England Championships and Malaysia Open.
Meanwhile, Chen has struggled with injury issues after his gold medal-winning campaign at last year's Rio Games. While he ended his last season early with a runner-up finish at China Open, the 28-year-old begun the new season with a title at German Open.
Having lost an automatic qualifying spot for Glasgow World Championships as he has slipped past behind compatriots Lin Dan, Tian Houwei and Shi Yuqi in BWF rankings, the world number nine will be motivated to go the distance in the continental tournament at home.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Malaysia: Astro Supersport 4
Singapore: Eleven Sports
China: CCTV 5+
