China's badminton superstar Lin Dan, 29, has withdrawn from this month's Li-Ning Singapore Open.

The Straits Times understands that the China Badminton Association wrote to organisers on Thursday night notifying them of his withdrawal.

The two-time Olympic champion, who was arguably the biggest draw of the annual tournament, will also not be competing in the Indonesian Open next week.

The last time he competed at the Singapore SuperSeries event was during the 2011 edition, when he handed compatriot Chen Jin a walkover in the men's singles final, citing illness.

The Olympic champion is set to be fined by the Badminton World Federation for his late withdrawal. Draws for the competition were made on Wednesday.

His withdrawal gives Singapore's Ashton Chen a berth in the men's singles qualifiers, by virtue of being the first player on the reserve list.