Austrian national badminton player David Obernosterer had said that it would be an honor to play against Olympic gold medalist Lin Dan of China in the first badminton match at the upcoming Rio Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old Vienna-based professional shuttler will be facing Lin, the reigning Olympic champion, in the men's singles event's opening match on August 11. Obernosterer has expressed his excitement about his Olympic debut, according to Xinhua.

Like Us on Facebook

"I think nothing better could happen in my first Olympics than playing the two-time Olympic champion, Lin Dan. This is what I trained many years for. I want to play with the best guys in this sport, learn from them and try to challenge them as well," Obernosterer said after his Tuesday's training session at Riocentro Pavillion 4.

Obernosterer currently has a professional badminton career record of 180 victories and 143 defeats. He has a total of 23,154 ranking points from 23 tournaments.

According to Shanghai Daily, Obernosterer, along with his girlfriend Elisabeth Baldauf, are the only two Austrian shuttlers that will represent their country in the prestigious quadrennial sporting event. However, the two badminton players, who are known as the "Royal Couple" in Austria, were very optimistic about their chances.

Baldauf, 27, has also said that she is excited about her first match as she will play against the 2016 BCA Indonesia Open winner Tai Tzu Ying of the Chinese Taipei.

"I am very excited about the match because I do not have much opportunity to play against the world class players so it's great to be here against the No.8 seed. I think I will have to play 120% if I am going to have a chance," Baldauf said.

TagsLin Dan, david obernosterer, bwf 2016, bwf rankings, 2016 Rio Olympics, elisabeth baldauf, tai tzu ying