But in the end Chen was unrelenting and outmanoeuvred the Malaysian at every turn, ending Lee’s dreams of gold with a smash directly at his feet.
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“You could say that I forgot how it is to play Lee Chong Wei”, the Dane said.
Lee Chong Wei is ready to embrace the pressure of a match up with world number one Chen Long and claim his ninth World Championship title. “But I have come here prepared to handle the pressure and Chen Long”.
Going into the match, Saina was the heavy favourite but her opponent caught a very good start.
The 20-year-old Momota is a former world junior champion and won the Indonesian Open, one of two titles this season, at the same venue in June.
“I tried to adapt and all the way he defended”.
The top seed and defending champion screamed in triumph as she emerged victorious after a 90-minute battle over Sung 21-17, 15-21, 21-16.
Lee, who entered the competition unseeded after returning from an eight-month doping ban, had to settle for his fourth consecutive silver medal.
World number one Carolina Marin will undergo physiotherapy ahead of her quarter final appearance at the world championships, after rolling her ankle on Thursday during her third-round win over Taiwan’s Pai Yu Po in Jakarta.
The 33-year-old admits that he may not have too many more opportunities to win the World Championship.
The home fans were then rewarded for their patience as Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan regained the men’s doubles title they won in 2013 with a 21-17 21-14 victory over China’s Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan in the last match of the day.
The Spaniard burst into tears and collapsed on the court as Nehwal’s final shot sailed out, delivering Marin the title she was not sure she would ever defend.
Danish pair Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl have a chance to make history when they face China’s Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in the women’s doubles finals.
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Like Chen and Marin, China’s mixed doubles pairing Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei are also poised to retain their crown after coming from behind to beat Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir 20-22, 23-21, 21-12, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.
