The Chinese suffered a surprise quarterfinal exit in last year’s tournament in Paris after three world titles in a row but looked in good shape at the Wembley Arena against his world-ranked 40 opponent.
Lin’s return of some heavy smashing coupled with sharp reflexes took him through in 34 minutes.
The victory avoided fresh Chinese embarrassment after the shock defeat on Monday of fifth-seed Chen Long by Guatemalan outsider Kevin Cordon.
Lin, seeded two behind Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, told reporters: “Conditions in the hall are good and the drift and light are favorable for me. I feel comfortable here.
“I concentrated well and played well.”
Wang Shixian, China’s top seed in the women’s singles, started her campaign with a comfortable 21-11 21-14 victory over Bulgaria’s Linda Zechiri.
There was more success for Ireland when Scott Evans beat Austria’s Michael Lahnsteiner 21-15 21-16 in the men’s singles, following Chloe Magee’s opening day win in the women’s event.
Though he made an impressive start Olympic champion Lin Dan still sees the week as a preparation for the defense of his title at the Games next year.
“I don’t consider too much about the result (of this tournament),” Lin commented.
“I just want to get the feel of the conditions here,” he said of the Wembley stadium which will also be used for badminton at the London 2012 Olympics.
“I don’t really mind about the world championships,” the Chinese star continued, talking through an interpreter. “But I do want to get (world ranking) qualifying points here for the Olympics.” This suggested that Lin’s performance may be sharper here than it was during the world championships in Paris last year, when he lost limply in the last 16.
On Tuesday he showed glimpses of the brilliance which made him the only player ever to win three world men’s singles titles.
Once he blocked the shuttle back for a winner from almost off his chest, and on another occasion he defended nimbly and then casually sliced the shuttle on to the floor as though the court were acres wide.
Only rarely though did he employ the fiery leaping smashes followed by the lunging kills which helped make him the world’s most spectacular player at his peak.
Lin also showed flashes of humor, comically pumping his arm when Navickas let a high clear drop, only for the shuttle to fall in.
On another occasion when he blocked and jabbed his way out of a tight corner, he ironically displayed his fist, which brought smiles and applause from the crowd.
Despite this, there was insufficient evidence as to whether the second-seeded superstar has enough desire and commitment to regain the title from his compatriot Chen Jin.
Results:
Men’s singles first round — Choong Hann Wong (Malaysia) beat Yu Hsing Hsieh (Taiwan) 21-7, 21-9; 7-Tien Minh Nguyen (Vietnam) beat Misha Zilberman (Israel) 21-10, 21-14; 3-Peter Gade (Denmark) beat Rajiv Ouseph (England) 21-8, 21-18; Toby Penty (England) beat Alistair Casey (Scotland) 21-16, 21-10; Scott Evans (Ireland) beat Michael Lahnsteiner (Austria) 21-15, 21-16; 2-Lin Dan (China) beat Kestutis Navickas (Lithuania) 21-11, 21-10
Women’s singles second round — 1-Wang Shixian (China) beat Linda Zechiri (Bulgaria) 21-11 21-14; 9-Juliane Schenk (Germany) beat Lindaweni Fanetri (Indonesia) 22-20, 18-21, 21-11; 5-Tine Baun (Denmark) beat Chan Tsz Ka (Hong Kong) 26-24 21-7; 13-Sung Ji-hyun (South Korea) beat Ai Goto (Japan) 21-13, 21-14; Carolina Marin (Spain) beat 15-Eriko Hirose (Japan) 21-23, 21-16, 21-16
