The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed today that they will be giving the Chinese player a place in the tournament, who won the last edition in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2015, due to take place between August 21 and 27 at the Emirates Arena.

Long, who won gold at Rio 2016, fell short of automatic qualification through his world ranking, where he currently sits in eighth position.

Along with his 2015 triumph, he also picked up the title in 2014 when the competition was held in Danish capital Copenhagen.

“Taking into consideration Chen Long’s status as reigning Olympic and world champion, the BWF has granted the Chinese star a wildcard to compete in the World Championships,” a BWF statement said.

“Chen Long has won the men’s singles title at the last two editions of the World Championships, as well as gold at last summer’s Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“This is the only wildcard being awarded by the BWF for the World Championships.”

At the 2015 competition, Long was the top seed and defeated Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei 21-14, 21-17 in the final.

This was a repeat of the previous year’s final, which Long won 21-19, 21-19, and the duo met again in the Rio 2016 final, with the Chinese player claiming a 21-18, 21-18 victory.

On Sunday (April 30), Long claimed the Badminton Asia Championship title by defeating team-mate Lin Dan 21-23, 21-11, 21-10 in Wuhan.