Lin survives to set up Lee showdown
Print Edition
TWICE-OLYMPIC champion Lin Dan survived a huge scare against India’s Kidambi Srikanth in the men’s singles in Rio yesterday to set up a blockbuster semifinal with Lee Chong Wei, the man he beat for the gold medal in Beijing and London.
China’s Lin, bidding for an unprecedented third successive title, was pushed to the limit in the 68-minute battle with world No. 11 Srikanth at the Riocentro before closing out the match 21-6, 11-21, 21-18.
At one point “Super Dan”, currently ranked third but regarded by some as badminton’s greatest-ever player, was 8-11 down in the final game and in danger of crashing out of the Olympics.
Top seed Lee was impressive in his 21-9, 21-15 demolition of Chou Tien-chen in the opening match yesterday, running the seventh-ranked Chinese Taipei player ragged with a sublime array of disguised drop-shots, lobs and smashes.
The semifinal pits two of the finest players of the modern era against each other in their Olympic swan song, with 33-year-old Malaysian Lee desperate to shake off a losing record at big tournaments to five-time world champion Lin.
The victor will face world No. 2 Chen Long, who, like his compatriot Lin, also needed three games to outlast South Korea’s Shon Wan-ho 21-11, 18-21, 21-11.
Britain’s Rajiv Ouseph, seeded 13th, was taking on No. 4 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the last quarterfinal.
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