Lin, fancied Lee lead march of top shuttlers

HYDERABAD, India – Top-seeded Lee Chong Wei and defending champion Lin Dan secured easy victories Monday to advance to the second round of the badminton world championships.

Top-ranked Lee of Malaysia overcame a slow start to prevail, 21-14, 21-10, over Germany’s Dieter Domke on the opening day, while China’s Lin, seeking to become the first player to win three successive titles, defeated Misha Zilberman of Israel, 21-9, 21-11.

Joining them in the second round was third-seeded Peter Gade of Denmark, a 21-11, 21-16 winner over Ukraine’s Valerly Atrashchekov.

The tournament began under tight security in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad after England’s decision Sunday to withdraw due to security concerns.

Returning to the venue of his first-round elimination in the India Open five months ago, Lee took time to find his game against the 116th-ranked Domke.

“I was slow to settle down and made some unforced errors in the first game,” said Lee, who added that he is satisfied with his form going into the championships.

Lee is in the top half of the men’s singles draw together with archrival Lin, winner of the singles title at the 2006 and 2007 worlds and the 2008 Olympics. (AP)