With less than two months to go until the season-ending BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals, China’s reigning world champion Chen Long is in Dubai to promote the Destination Dubai Superseries Finals.

Chen, who won the world championships in Copenhagen earlier this year by beating world number one, Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, has been engaging with schoolchildren and players involved in the Shuttle Time Dubai’s grassroots initiatives.

Chen, fresh from defending his title at the Denmark Open, also took the opportunity to visit the Hamdan Sports Complex, venue for the Dubai Finals on 17-21 December. 

“It’s a magnificent venue, I am really looking forward to competing here in December,” Chen said.

“I’m excited at the prospect of playing at such a state-of-the-art facility, it’s great to bring this event to an area that hasn’t had world class badminton before and I am sure that sports fans will have a wonderful time.”

Only the top eight players in the world qualify for the Destination Dubai Superseries Finals and a shot at collecting a share of the $1million prize pool.

Chen, who won the Finals in 2012, but missed out on qualifying last year, is in second position on the BWF Destination Dubai rankings behind Wei, and should be a certainty to make the cut for the event.