Wuhan: After his victory over World No. 1 men’s single player Lee Chong Wei in the Malaysia Open final on April 9th, Lin produced another vintage performance as he made a comfortable win against Lee in the 2017 Badminton Asia Championships semi-finals on Saturday.
Lin raced to a strong start playing with great accuracy to lead at 12-6 in the opening set before winning the game 21-13. Lin took advantage of some uncharacteristic mistakes from Lee in the second set to quickly race to 13-8 in the second set.
As chanting for both legends became louder in Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, Lee continued struggling to find rhythm on his smashes and net shots, in which Lin Dan ultimately wrapped up the semi-final match 21-15 in 52 minutes.
“Lin was faster and was in top form, while I was playing passively,” said Lee.
“I couldn’t catch up with his rhythm and some of my hits are not converting,” added Lee.
Meanwhile, Lin Dan told reporters that he is always exited to face Lee Chong Wei.
“No matter it is Olympics, World Championships or Grand Prix, as long as it is against Lee, I will spare no effort to try to defeat him,” said Lin.
“Lee and I are now 35 and 34 years old, but we are still the top men’s singles players in the world. In addition, I’m so proud that the match between Lee and I can always attract major attention across the globe,” said Lin.
Lin, however, refused to comment on his participation at the Tokyo Olympics.
“Tokyo is still too far away from me. My current focus is to stay healthy and continue to play in different competitions in 2017,” said Lin.
Lin Dan who won the Badminton Asia Championships in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2015 will battle compatriot and 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist, Chen Long in the final on Sunday.
