China's reigning Summer Olympic Games champion and current second top-ranked player in the world no. 2 Chen Long has reportedly decided to give up on his wild card slot and pulled out from the upcoming BWF World Superseries Finals that will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from Dec. 14 to 18.

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According to the report of the BadmintonPlanet, with Chen's absence in the season-ending Superseries tournament, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) technical director Morten Frost is looking forward for a good result from the ruling world no. 1 men's singles player Lee Chong Wei.

"It's no surprise that Chen Long has pulled out. A lot of players peaked at the Olympics, and would be hard for them to maintain their forms for the rest of the season," the 58-year-old Frost said.

The recent withdrawal of Chen, who obtained a wild card slot for the USD 1 million badminton event after claiming the Olympic gold medal in Rio last August, opened up the way for 35-year-old shuttler Hu Yun of Hong Kong to enter the prestigious competition as Chen's replacement.

According to the official website of the BWF, Hu currently ranks no. 15 in the world and has been a semifinalist in the recently concluded Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open. It will be the Hong Kong national's fourth appearance in the finals.

Meanwhile, in the event of the women's doubles, the Indonesian pairing of Nitya Krishinda and Maheswari-Greysia Polii also had withdrawn for the upcoming BWF event. The doubles pair of Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei of Malaysia, who currently ranked ninth in the Destination Dubai Rankings, will be replacing the Indonesian duo to enter the tournament.

The Chinese tandem of Rio Olympic men's doubles gold medalist Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan have also opted to skip the prestigious BWF year-ender event. Their vacated slot will be replaced by the Danish combination of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen.

Tagsbwf, Chen Long, Lee Chong Wei, dubai world superseries finals, bwf rankings