No Chong Wei but Lin Dan in Birmingham

Lee Chong Wei will not participate in the Yonex All England next March. The qualifying entry list for the first Superseries event of the year, released today on the BWF website, does not feature the name of the Malaysian, who is still under provisional suspension. It is likely that the Malaysian was not allowed to enter any event until his suspension is lifted – but this can only be done by the BWF panel and the hearing, which is supposed to be taking place sometime in February does not yet have a confirmed date. Lee Chong Wei dropped to world #3 spot on Thursday, leaving his second spot to Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen. Lee is the only player in the top 20 missing the first major event of the year.

There was some good news for the spectators of the Yonex All England though.  Two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan will make his return to Birmingham after missing out on the last two editions. Lin is seeded 5th in the men’s singles category.

In the women’s singles, all the top players will be in England, except for Sayaka Takahashi (#13) and Han Li (#19), with China at full speed, eager to show that their end of the year 2014 will be quickly forgotten.

Entries and seeding positions here