The Malaysian Open men's singles title will be off to an explosive start with a Lin Dan-Taufik Hidayat clash of the titans set for the first round at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium today.

The duo have served up classic battles, especially in recent encounters. They have met 11 times and the record favors world champion Lin Dan at 7-4. However, Olympic champion Taufik will have the mental edge going in since he was the winner in their last encounter - the final of the Asian Games in Doha last month.

There will be no love lost between the duo today. Both have had their share of bad sportsmanship and facing each other often brought the best out of both men.

Last year, Lin Dan snubbed the organizers of the Malaysian Open. The Chinese ace stomped out in anger after losing to home player Lee Chong Wei after dropping a seven-point lead at match point.

Taufik, a veteran of frequent disputes with his national body, walked out of a quarter-final match against Lin Dan in the Hong Kong Open last year for alleged bad line calls. He was docked world rankings points by the World Badminton Federation (BWF) for his action.

Tension reached a boil when the Indonesian branded Lin Dan as arrogant prior to the start of the Doha Asiad. Lin Dan beat Taufik twice in the team event but the Indonesian turned the tables on the Chinese to take the individual gold medal.

The 24-year-old Lin Dan said: “I have come here well prepared after the defeat in the Asian Games. I will relish playing against Taufik because we will take our game to a higher level and my aim is to beat him here. Things have been said about me ... maybe to get me all worked up. I want to stay focused here. But I will not be too troubled if I lose. There will be so many more other opportunities."

Taufik feels that beating Lin Dan for a second consecutive time over a short period would be a difficult task.

"After the Asiad, I have trained only for a week. But I think that I will still be up to the challenge against Lin Dan. But it will be tough. He has the better record over me but I have beaten him in all the major tournaments. He is the world number one but I have held that position before. He is the world champion and I have won the world title before."

Taufik said that he would have preferred to face top Dane Peter Gade-Christensen or Chong Wei.

"They are friendly players. They give their best on court and maintain a good relationship off-court," he said.

Taufik has pinpointed his main goal in 2007 was to nail the elusive All-England crown in March, where he has twice been the runner-up.

"It is the only main title that is missing from my collection. I am skipping the Korean Open after this to concentrate on my preparation for the All-England. But firstly, I want to get off to a good start," he said.

(China Daily via The Star Online January 17, 2007)