― Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 ― Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had nothing but praise for national shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei who bested China’s Lin Dan tonight in a nail-biting game to advance to the badminton men’s singles final in the Olympic Games.
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In a rivalry every bit as intense as Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo or Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal, Badminton’s Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan have endured a number of memorable contests over the years, many of which have come at the Olympic games.
It will be the 26th meeting between both the players with the Malaysian having a slender lead of one in the head-to-head encounters.
But his 32-year-old limbs simply could not keep up with the dogged tactics of the rival he beat in the London and Beijing finals, and he succumbed to a 15-21 21-11 22-20 defeat.
Now ranked third in the world, Lin Dan came into this semi-final as the underdog despite his strong Olympic history, but he had the better of the game early on, soon opening up a 10-5 in the first game.
“I feel really relieved after that because today’s match is over”, third seed Lin told reporters. It was reminiscent of the 2012 final, when Lee let slip a lead to give Lin the victory. “In my mind I was just thinking don’t lose”, the Malaysian said. After beating Lee in two straight gold medal matches and with Lee retiring after the Olympics, Lin knew that Lee was going to want revenge more than ever.
Friday’s matchup is nearly certain to be the last time the old foes meet at an Olympics with both Lee, 33 and Lin, 32 expected to have retired by the time Tokyo 2020 rolls around.
Several Malaysian athletes were also present to support Lee, including Rio Olympics silver medallist Pandelela Rinong, who shed tears after Lee won. I’ ll try my best in the next match. Just one more step now.
“Now I don’t worry who my final opponent is as I am focused”.
Chong Wei will play against Lin Dan of China in the semi-finals while Chen Long will be up against Viktor in the other semis.
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Starting from his arrival in Rio, passing the preliminaries as smooth as in the semifinals, Lin and his golden shoes garnered attentions from the world and badminton enthusiasts.
