China have been a powerhouse in Olympic badminton in recent years butRio has seen their dominance eroded. A match that can symbolize the modification that will happen in men’s singles in a future without Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. Well, the inevitable occurred, and the two badminton legends gave us one of the greatest matches in history.
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In a career dominated by near-misses, Lee lost his third successive final after being beaten by Chinese great Lin for the gold in Beijing and London.
Chen Long of China celebrates his victory over Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia during the men’s singles final of badminton competition at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 20, 2016. As most everyone knows, the sport of badminton is most popular in the Asian countries, while the rest of the world is predominantly unfamiliar with it.
It is GB’s first gold boxing medal at Rio 2016, although super-heavyweight Joe Joyce could add another on Sunday.
The 6-foot-2 Chen, victor of the bronze at the 2012 London Games, continued the streak of Olympic success for Chinese men’s badminton stars that Lin Dan began by defeating Lee in the gold-medal singles matches in Beijing and London. Below are some of the best moments from the past tournament.
“Me winning today has everything to do with my team-mates’ goodresult yesterday”.
A “letter” purportedly written by Lin Dan for Datuk Lee Chong Wei has turned out to be a work of fiction.
It was a first gold medal for world No.2 Chen, who won bronze at London 2012, but a third straight silver for the top-ranked Lee. “It is thefeeling of winning and everything working for you when you haveworked so hard for a long time”.
“The combined value of those three silvers from three Olympics is way beyond that of one gold”, said Chen.
World number two Chen said he had been determined to ensure that the men’s singles title stayed with China after Lin was dumped out by Lee. Chen Long clearly under pressure. Marin, the world No. 1 and heavy favorite ahead of the Rio Games, also beat Li Xuerui, the defending Olympic champion from China, to get to the gold medal match.
“But I never expected I would finally be able to grab the title”. The Malaysian badminton great is likely to retire before the Tokyo Olympic 2020. When I hugged you, I really felt as if the past ten years with you, had been but a dream. What’s more important is whether I could face each point, whether I’ve won it or lost it, peacefully.
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Earlier Saturday, the two-time reigning Olympic champion Lin endedthe Rio Games without a medal by losing the bronze clash withDenmark’s Viktor Axelsen.
