KUALA LUMPUR: Lydia Cheah used to dream about playing in the All-England badminton competition during her junior days a couple of years back.

Now that it has become a reality, the lanky shuttler is determined to cherish every moment of her trip to the third-leg of the Super Series, which will be held in Birmingham from March 3-8.

The 20-year-old Lydia and Julia Wong are the only two Malaysian representatives in the women’s singles event of the All-England following the absence of Wong Mew Choo, who is working hard to recover from her knee and elbow injuries.

Lydia will begin her campaign in the qualifying tournament while Julia will start from the main draw.

KUALA LUMPUR: China’s Bao Chunlai may turn out to be an early spoiler for Malaysia’s world No. 1 men’s singles shuttler Lee Chong Wei in the All-England, which will be held in Birmingham from March 3-8.

Chunlai, who has dropped out of the top 10 rankings in the world, will be unseeded and could be pitted against any of the top players in the opening round when the draw is released on Feb 17.

The All-England is the first tournament for the lanky Chunlai since his semi-final finish in the China Super Series in September.

China did not send their players to any international tournaments for the last three months in a bid to give more emphasis on polishing up their game at home.

Having failed to make the final at the All-England the last six times, Chunlai will surely be motivated to give it his all this time around — especially since his team-mates Lin Dan and Chen Jin had tasted victory before.

Lin Dan won the All-England in 2004, 2006 and 2007 while Chen Jin, who is junior to Chunlai, clinched the title last year.