SINGAPORE — Perhaps age has mellowed Lin Dan, badminton’s bad boy who is known for his ill-tempered outbursts — he once punched his coach Ji Xinpeng during a training camp in 2008 — on and off the court.

The 32-year-old is clearly enjoying his time in Singapore, even turning on the charm during the OUE Singapore Open pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

After yesterday’s first-round match, he took time to acknowledge the fans, waving to them and gifting a lucky supporter with the match shuttlecock.

But age has certainly not dulled Lin’s game, as the Chinese former world No 1 entertained fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday with explosive smashes and deft flicks en route to a 21-16, 21-19 victory over Indonesia’s Ihsan Maulana Mustofa in the first round of the men’s singles.

Back in Singapore after a four-year absence — he was booed by fans after withdrawing from the men’s singles final in 2011 due to a stomach ache — Lin had snatched an early 1-0 lead against his Indonesian rival, but a feisty comeback from the world No 32 shuttler in the second game saw the scores tied at 19-19.

Buoyed by the cheers from some 500 fans in the stadium, Lin rallied to win the game, and match, 21-19.

Issuing a subtle warning to his rivals, he said yesterday: “The second match was more anxious, but I was able to adjust my condition to finish the match.

“I feel that a player’s performance in the first match may not be the best he is capable of.

“I haven’t been in Singapore for four years … being the first match of the tournament, I’m very glad to see a lot of fans coming here on a Wednesday morning to support me.”

The indoor stadium’s draughty wind conditions proved a challenge for world No 1 Chen Long, as the 27-year-old suffered an early scare in his first-round match against India’s H S Prannoy (22), losing the first game 18-21 before clawing back to claim the next two, 21-18, 21-19.

“I feel my whole performance was not up to standard and I am still unfamiliar with the stadium’s wind draught, so I made quite a few mistakes,” he said. “The Singapore Indoor Stadium is well-known in the world (for its draught) and even the best players in the world haven’t won a medal here, so I feel happy winning the first round.”

There were no such first-round troubles for women’s world No 1 Carolina Marin, who cruised to a 21-12, 21-9 victory over Indonesia’s Lindaweni Fanetri despite an injury scare in the first game after a fall.

“I am a little bit sick because I got the flu one week before the Malaysia Open,” said the Spaniard. “I feel I did a good performance during the game. This stadium is much better than Malaysia … when you play with the draught and conditions you have to control the shuttle and not make mistakes.”

It was also all systems go for the women’s singles top seeds Ratchanok Inthanon (3) of Thailand and China’s Wang Yihan, as they notched respective 2-0 wins over Cheung Ngan Yi (Hong Kong) and South Korea’s Bae Yeon Ju to advance to the next stage.

European champion Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark) was not as lucky, as the world No 5 shuttler was routed 21-16, 22-20 by Japan’s Sho Sasaki (26) in the first round of the men’s singles.