Chong Wei eyes sixth Malaysian Open title

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KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh from his first-ever Korean Open title on Sunday, and with the withdrawal of several key rivals, world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei is on the right track to win his sixth Malaysian Open Super Series title.

Chong Wei received a boost with the eleventh-hour withdrawal of his arch-rival and second seed Lin Dan of China, as well as Indonesians Simon Santoso and Sony Dwi Kuncoro, ranked sixth and seventh respectively.

The pull-out of the big names may have lessened the interest in the tournament but it clears the path for Chong Wei, who won the title in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009.

The top seed will take on unseeded Ouseph Rajiv of England in the first round tomorrow, a day after the qualifying round.

2009 had been one of the best years in the 10-year playing career of the Olympic silver medallist, having won the Malaysian Open, Swiss Open, Indonesia Open, Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold, Macau Open Grand Prix Gold, Hong Kong Open and Super Series Masters Finals.