CHINA TOPIX

03/28/2024 07:44:43 am

Make CT Your Homepage

Badminton News: Lee Chong Wei Outlasts Lin Dan, Sets Finals Matchup Against Chen Long

lee chong wei

(Photo : gettyimages.com) Lee Chong-Wei will face Chen Long in the Olympic badminton finals.

The quest of Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei for his maiden Olympic gold medal lives on as he overcame a gutsy challenge from Lin Dan in their semifinal round matchup in the ongoing badminton competition at the 2016 Rio Games on Friday.

The 33-year-old Kuala Lumpur-based badminton star finally avenged his two defeats to the Chinese shuttler at previous Olympics in Beijing and London.

Like Us on Facebook

According to the Star Online, Lee dropped the opening set 21-15 as Lin dominated and took an early lead in their best-of-three semifinal round match 1-0. However, the incumbent Asian champ bounced back in the following sets and evened the match at one game apiece after taking the second set 21-11 in just 19 minutes.

In the deciding third game, the two top-notch and multi-titled male shuttlers aggressively sought after every point of the set. Both players played hard trying to get the better of each other as the score was knotted at 16-16 tie and later went to 20-all.

However, Lee managed to hold Lin off and scored two-straight points to walk away with the win. With his victory over Lin, the Malaysian badminton icon is now assured of at least a silver medal finish when he faces Chen Long of China.

Chen Long qualified for the championship round after beating the 22-year-old Victor Axelsen of Denmark 21-14, 21-15. The men's singles badminton finals will be played on Saturday at the Barra Olympic Park Riocentro - Pavilion 4.

Real Time Analytics