Lee outduels Du to set up final against Lin
Print Edition
Top-seeded Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and defending champion Lin Dan of China earned contrasting victories yesterday to set up a much-awaited men’s final at the world championships in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province.
Lee struggled to find his rhythm early on but got his game together in time to beat third-seeded Du Pengyu of China 20-22, 21-12, 21-15 in a late-night thriller. Four-time champion Lin had earlier defeated Vietnam’s seventh seed Nguyen Tien Minh 21-17, 21-15.
In the women’s final, top-seeded reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China will take on upcoming Thai player Ratchanok Intanon.
Li scored a comfortable 21-15, 21-11 win over 13th-seeded South Korean Bae Yeon-ju to expectedly make the title round.
In the other semifinal between two 18-year-olds seen as future top players, fourth-seeded Intanon won 21-10, 21-13 against India’s PV Sindhu, who was seeded 10th playing in her first world championship.
But China will not achieve a third straight clean sweep of the world championships after its men’s doubles pair Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng lost 19-21, 17-21 to Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the semifinals.
Two-time Olympic champion Lin progressed to the final despite having hardly played competitively over the past year and entering on a wildcard because of his low ranking before the tournament.
Lin, widely regarded as badminton’s best ever player, slipped behind in the first game after misjudging Nguyen’s early returns.
But as the match went on, he injected pace and attacking play with jump smashes and unreachable shots down the line, taking the first game 21-17.
The second game saw the tenacious Vietnamese player, who has never beaten Lin, give his all in punchy rallies and forced Lin to dive around the court. Though his game was error-prone, Lin eventually outpowered and outmaneuvered Nguyen to take it 21-15.
“I haven’t really played any world level matches over the past year and it’s unbelievable that I’ve got into the final. I’m really happy,” Lin said after the match.
In philosophical mood, Lin said he had stopped caring so much about winning and that family life had helped him curb his on-court temper.
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