Chen Jin made a good start to his bid to reach the world men's singles final for a second successive year Tuesday – and then offered glimpses of life in the shadow of perhaps the greatest badminton player of all time. The fourth seeded Chen lost the 2009 final in Hyderabad to his record-breaking Chinese compatriot Lin Dan, but began this year's campaign with a soundly taken 21-14, 21-14 win over Ville Lang, the world number 53 from Finland. Top-seeded Wang Yihan of China began her bid for her first world title with a convincing victory in her opening match. Following a first-round bye, Wang beat Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand 21-12, 21-19 to move into the third round. Wang has held the world's top ranking since late last year, but she hasn't won a title since November and been susceptible to upsets this year. She lost a classic final to Tine Baun of Denmark at the All England Championships, then crashed out early in the Swiss Super Series, and was upset in the Uber Cup final, in which China conceded a first title to South Korea. Next up is Eriko Hirose of Japan, and a looming quarterfinal against seventh-seeded Lin Wang of China or Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong, who beat Wang at the Swiss Super Series. Hirose beat Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia 21-14, 21-18. Lin, the bronze medal at last year's worlds in India, defeated Maja Tvrdy of Slovenia 21-7, 21-18. Meanwhile, European champion Baun made her comeback in winning style after an injury sidelined her for four months. She beat Lianne Tan of Belgium 21-10, 21-11. Baun likes her chances at the worlds. “It is open,” she said. “Many players can be at the top on Sunday. But still, China with four players, they have the pressure on their shoulders.” Neither reigning world champion Lu Lan nor runner-up Xie Xingfang are representing China at this event. Cheng Shao-chieh of Taiwan upset 14th-seeded Bae Seung Hee. The South Korean lost 21-14, 21-23, 21-16 despite saving four match points. The 49th-ranked Cheng will next meet eighth-seeded Juliane Schenk of Germany, who edged Lydia Li Ya Cheah of Malaysia 21-16, 21-17. In men's singles, the second-seeded Peter Gade of Denmark reached the second round. European champion Gade cruised past Daniel Paiola of Brazil 21-10, 21-7. Chen will next face Kestutis Navickas of Lithuania, who rallied past Kieran Merrilees of Scotland 15-21, 21-13, 21-14. Gade will have a trickier match against South Korea's Shon Wan Ho, ranked 19th in the world, who defeated Hu Yun of Hong Kong 21-18, 21-13. “He's been teasing some of the best ones,” Gade said about Shon. “I have to play well to beat him. I need to be patient. He's a strong defensive player, I need to keep my attack a bit back.” The Dane leads 2-0 against Shon but was each time stretched to three sets. Asked about complaints by several Asian players on Monday about the heat inside Pierre de Coubertin Stadium, Gade said he understood – to a point. “It's an intimate stadium, it's got to be hot in here,” Gade explained.” The 107th-ranked Chen Yong Zhao of Singapore caused the first upset of the day by defeating 14th-seeded Chetan Anand of India 21-14, 21-18. Also, ninth-seeded Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand routed Vladimir Malkov of Russia 21-6, 21-6 and eighth-seeded Simon Santoso of Indonesia beat Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland 21-11, 21
