QINGDAO, East China, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The 2007 world junior champion Chen Long stumbled in the first round of the men's singles badminton event at the 11th Chinese National Games here on Thursday.

    Chen lost to Beijing's Du Pengyu 21-15, 15-21 and 23-25.

    Chen, world number 17, was tipped as a favorite to win a singles medal at the National Games after his success in helping Fujian win a silver medal in the team event.

    Chen was regarded as a giant killer. In March, Chen overcame Beijing Olympic runner-up Lee Choog Wei of Malaysia, and in the preliminaries of men's team competitions at the National Games in May he outplayed Beijing Olympic champion Lin Dan, who lauded that Chen will be one of the best players in the near future. In June, Chen continued his giant-killing run by defeating Athens Olympic champion Hidayat Taufik of Indonesia.

    "I was too anxious to earn points," said Chen. "Especially in the decider, I led by a big margin but then made excessive errors."

    Du said Chen was better than him in terms of overall strength. "But today I prepared well for this match, played actively and took some decisive points."