After 10 days of Olympic badminton at Riocentro for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, all five of the sports’ events have been completed with Malaysia’s No. 1 seed Lee Chong Wei being upset by China’s No. 2 seed Chen Long in the Mens’ Singles Finals in back-to-back sets. Her images went viral once before in 2013 and has resurfaced after his Olympic silver medal win.
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“For me, for Malaysia, for the fans, I think we all hoped we could win the gold”.
“I’m happy to be qualified in the first place”.
Lee bows out as Malaysia’s most decorated Olympian, but sadly he may well be remembered as the player who won everything except the titles that matter. “I’ ll try my best in the next match”, Lin referred to the coming semifinal against Lee.
With the defeat in Rio the Malaysian ace is not likely to play in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Malaysian will do battle with world number two Chen, who Lee recently usurped at the top of the rankings, after the Chinese breezed past Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen 21-14, 21-15.
Though many onlookers would have been disappointed not to see Lin face arch-rival Lee, which was the match everyone in the badminton world wanted following their clashes at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, the gold medal match between Chen and the Malaysian was packed full of drama and proved to be a superb exhibition of badminton.
He fought his way back to the top of the rankings after returning from a doping ban a year ago for a final shot at Olympic glory.
Lin Dan struggled in his quarterfinal matchup vs. the young but talented Srikanth Kidambi from India, while Lee Chong Wei cruised past his opponent, Chou Tien Chen from Chinese Taipei.
“It is very unexpected to be able to get back up after the doping incident”, said Lee.
Both men are considered by many to be the best players of their era, and maybe of all time, and the semifinal match was often thrilling. “As we become older, both of us have to train really really hard to stay at the level we are now”, said the 32-year-old Chinese. Lee had Lin on the ropes with a 20-17 lead and a chance to seal it, but Lin brilliantly scored four straight points to tie the game at 20-20.
At the age of 33 it is virtually certain that his career will end without that elusive Olympic gold medal while Malaysia’s hunt for a first gold in any sport continues.
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The Malaysians’ loss followed their compatriots’ defeat in the mixed doubles final earlier in the week and left Lee with all the pressure again ahead of a tough decider against another Chinese bogey-man in Chen Long.
