Chen Long blames pillow for slow start to All-England Championships
World champion Chen Long avoided a potential first-round exit at the All-England Championships on Wednesday and blamed an uncomfortable pillow for a sluggish start to his campaign.
Five-times winner Lin Dan of China admitted he was not contemplating a sixth title after a hard-fought 21-14, 12-21, 21-16 victory over Wei Nan of Hong Kong.
Chen, the world number one and top seed, woke up with a muscle spasm in his neck, putting the issue down to a soft hotel pillow.
He had worn a plaster to ease a sore neck and his uncomfortable sleep nearly proved costly as fellow countryman Xue Song raced away with the first game 21-12.
A big upset looked on the cards as Chen stretched tiredly to net at 16-16 in the second before the 2013 champion rattled off three points in a row to set up a decider.
I started really slow and I wasn’t in the best of form out there
Chen’s forehand smash was prominent thereafter and he comfortably took the third 21-9, setting up a last-16 clash with Hsu Jen-hao of Taiwan.