China Masters 2017 badminton: How to watch Lin Dan matches online, TV listings, full schedule and preview

Following busy last few weeks of Superseries action in India, Malaysia and Singapore, badminton action returns to China for the 2017 Bony China Masters, the $150,000 Grand Prix Gold tournament, starting 18 April.

All eyes will be on two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan, who is gearing up to defend his title, after his title-winning run at Malaysia Open earlier this month.

The Chinese legend is racing against time to qualify for BWF World Championships 2017 and he is currently the fourth highest-ranked Men's singles shuttler from China at 10 behind Shi Yuqi (6), Chen Long (7) and Tian Houwei (8). Notably, only the top-three (as on cut-off date - 27 April) from a member nation earn an automatic qualifying spot

While most of the top-ranked shuttlers have opted out of the tournament, Lin faces an easy passage until the quarter-final and is likely to take on either third seed Qiao Bin or India's former top-10 shuttler Parupalli Kashyap in the semi-final.

Lin has a good chance to leapfrog second seed Houwei in BWF rankings and the 34-year-old will be eyeing a win against his compatriot in a possible title clash.

Junior World Champion eyes success at home

World junior champion Chen Yufei of China will start as the top-seeded Women's singles shuttler in the tournament. The 19-year-old, who started the season on a high with a runner-up finish at Swiss Open, will look to make an impact at home.

Yufei faces threat from Japanese shuttlers Aya Ohori and Ayumi Mine. Taiwan's in-form shuttler Chia Hsin Lee will be hoping to end her title drought and the absence of top-ranked Women's singles shuttlers provides her a good opportunity.

Seeding information