Michelle Li will aim to win her third straight Canada Open title ©Getty Images

Michelle Li will attempt to defend her women’s title at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Canada Open when competition gets underway tomorrow at the Markin MacPhail Centre.

The 24-year-old has triumphed at the tournament for the past two years and will attempted to spearhead a strong home challenge, with 43 Canadian players having been registered to compete.

While several Canadians will need to make it through qualifying, which gets underway tomorrow, the reigning Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games champion begins her challenge in the main draw.

Brazil’s Lohaynny Vicente, who will be representing her nation at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, is also due to compete in the women’s competition.

Should Vicente meet Li during the event, she will hope to avenge her defeat in the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games final.

Marc Zwiebler will start as one of the favourites for the men's singles title ©Getty Images
Marc Zwiebler will start as one of the favourites for the men's singles title ©Getty Images

Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei is not due to compete in the competition, having triumphed in last year’s edition of the event.

Marc Zwiebler will hope to improve on his performance from 2015, when the German was eliminated in the semi-finals by Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long.

Competition is scheduled to take place until July 3 and is a BWF Grand Prix Gold event.