Chinese shuttlers will have to step on a rocky road toward the championship at the Athens Olympic Games when the draw for the Games badminton tournament was conducted on Sunday.

Top seed Lin Dan faces tough challenge from Singapore's Ronald Susilo in the first round, who won the 2004 Japan Open, the first-ever five-star Open title for the rising star. His compatriot Chen Hong, seeded 2nd, will also meet a strong opponent from Denmark, Kenneth Jonassen.

The draw result holds a mixed fortune for other Chinese hopefuls, with women's top seed Gong Ruina locking horns with her long-time rivals Mia Audina of the Netherlands and Camilla Martin of Denmark, while mixed doubles defending champions Zhang Jun/Gao Ling set to face invincible South Koreans Kim Dong Moon/Ra Kyung Min in the final.

Li Yongbo, head coach of the Chinese badminton team, regarded the draw result as "normal".

"The draw result is within our expectation," Li said, adding that Chinese national team won't ignore any opponent.

"As what I said before, you have to defeat any rival if you want to win," he stressed.

Regarded as the powerhouse for the Chinese delegation at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Chinese shuttlers collected four of the five gold medals.