China’s badminton ace Lin Dan will defend his title at the All-England badminton championships, which will begin in Birmingham from March 9-14, without his coach Tang Xianhu.

The 67-year-old coach, who was nicknamed The Thing as a player between 1961 and 1975 before turning to coaching in the early 80s, has returned to Fuzhou in Fujian province for rest due to an illness. [..]

Top seed Chong Wei, who lost to Lin Dan in last year’s final when China took all five titles, begins his title bid against India’s Chetan Anand with the Malaysian likely to meet Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the second round.

Ahead of the 100th edition in Birmingham, which starts on March 9, he said: “What is important is to make the best preparation, whether physically or mentally. [..]