It could very well be the draw of death for singles ace Lee Chong Wei and doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong in the All-England badminton tournament next month.

In fact, it doesn’t look good for the top women shuttlers – Wong Mew Choo and Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty – either.

Judging by the draw released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) yesterday, this may turn out to be one of the worst outings for the national shuttlers at the All-England, which will be held in Birmingham from March 9-14.

In the men’s singles, world No. 1 Chong Wei will meet Chetan Anand in the opening round.

But the second round could see Chong Wei facing his nemesis – Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro – who is likely to beat China’s Du Pengyu in the opening round.

The injury-plagued Sony may not be as consistent now but it was him who humbled Chong Wei at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships.

National singles chief coach Rashid Sidek believes that the match against Sony could be the turning point for Chong Wei this time.

“Sony had shattered Chong Wei’s dreams twice at the world meet. But if Chong Wei gets past Sony, it will boost his confidence when he faces other tough opponents,” said Rashid.

But more danger lurks.

If Chong Wei wins, he may face new Danish hotshot Jan O Jorgensen in the last eight. The others in the same half with Chong Wei, who is chasing his first All-England title, are Indonesian Taufik Hidayat and Denmark’s Peter-Gade Christensen.

It will also be tough for the other three Malaysians singles players – Mohd Hafiz Hashim, Wong Choong Hann and Chong Wei Feng.

Hafiz has a chance to exact revenge on Taiwanese Hsieh Yu-hsing in the first round. If he gets past Yu-hsing, who won their last encounter in the first round of the Malaysian Open, Hafiz is likely to come up against second seed and defending champion Lin Dan of China next.

Wei Feng, who will have to come through the qualifiers first, has the unenviable task of meeting Lin Dan in the first round.

Choong Hann, meanwhile, has a challenging first round clash against Indonesian Simon Santoso.

Former All-England champions Kien Keat-Boon Heong could not have asked for a worse draw than being pitted against former world champions Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark in the first round.

Also in their half are South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong, China’s Chai Biao-Zhang Nan, Indonesians Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan, Hendra Gunawan-Alven Yulianto and former Malaysian internationals Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen.

National doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky said: “Based on past records, our pair have a better record against the Danes. But Lars-Jonas were in impeccable form at the Copenhagen Masters. I think Chai Biao-Zhang Nan will be the toughest hurdle for Koo-Tan.

“Koo-Tan beat the Chinse youngsters at the Malaysian Badminton Open final. But then, they lacked experience. This Chinese pair should not be underestimated.”

In the women’s singles, Mew Choo’s opening hurdle is third seed Jiang Yanjiao of China. If she makes it, Mew Choo may face Malaysian Open winner Wang Shixian of China next.

Laos SEA Games champions Eei Hui-Pei Tty have a tricky first round tie against Meiliana Jauhari-Greysia Polii of Indonesia. Also in their quarter are Japanese pair Mizuki Fujii-Reika Kakiiwa, who have beaten the Malaysian pair before.