April 11, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 4, 1429

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10: The best shuttlers in the world have confirmed themselves for next week’s Asian Badminton Championships next week -- the last tournament in Asia offering ranking points for Olympic qualification.

The entry lists, released Thursday, show eight of the world’s top 10 men will be in action, led by China’s Lin Dan and Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei.

Also in the fray will be China’s All-England champion Chen Jin, his team-mate Bao Chunlai and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.

The top five women will also play, spearheaded by Lin’s girlfriend Xie Xingfang and her Chinese team-mates Ning Zhang and Lan Lu.

While most of the big names have already qualified for Beijing in August, they will be using the championships starting Tuesday in Johor Bahru to improve their international ranking.

This becomes vital when the draw for the Olympics is held with a higher ranking meaning an easier opponent in the early stage of the competition.—AFP