DOHA, Qatar _ World No.1 Lin Dan of China and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat headline an Asian Games men's badminton tournament that promises to rival any world championship.

Lin Dan(L) and girlfriend World No.2 Xie Xingfang. [Xinhua]

Badminton powerhouses China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand are all fielding strong teams in the six events starting Sunday.

Lin, who won the world title at September's world championships in Madrid, is the favorite for the men's singles title, along with countryman and Madrid silver medalist Bao Chunlai.

Defending Asian Games champion Hidayat, although currently ranked 12th in the world, could also threaten for the gold.

Malaysia's world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei will look to make up for a disappointing world championship, in which he was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Bao.

Hidayat, 25, said this might be his final Asian Games.

"I won the gold medal at Busan, and I hope to win it at these Asian Games," said Hidayat. "This will be my last Asian Games for me, I'm getting too old."

Hidayat had a celebrated run-in with Lin in Hong Kong this year, and doesn't think much of his rival.

Hidayat stomped off the court at 4-1 down in the first game of his match with Lin after disputing a line call. A week earlier the Indonesian star had been unhappy with line calls at the Korean Open.

"I don't like Lin," Hidayat said at training this week. "I know he's a good player, yes, but he's not nice to other players ... he's arrogant."

China's team has nine shuttlers ranked among the top three in the world and is looking to greatly improve its performance from the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, where it claimed just two gold medals _ in the women's singles and women's team events.

China's women's singles chances at Doha rest with Olympic gold medalist Zhang Ning and world No. 2 Xie Xingfang, while Hong Kong's Wang Chen, the 2002 bronze medalist, promises a strong challenge.

Doubles world champions Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun of China, who missed the podium at the 2004 Olympics, are considered a strong challenge to win a medal at Doha.

The women's doubles favorites are both from China _ Zhang Jiewen and Yang Wei and the team of Gao Ling and Huang Sui. Zhang and Yang won the Olympic gold at Athens and dominated Grand Prix events this year.

China is favorite in both the men's and women's teams event following their wins in the Thomas and Uber Cup competitions, respectively, this year.

The badminton competition will be held at the Aspire Sports Academy. It houses an indoor athletics stadium, a 5,000-seat football stadium, Olympic-sized swimming and diving pools, and seven multipurpose sports halls, one of which will host the badminton on three courts.