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29 March 2024

Lee, Lin in dream All-England final

Published
By AFP

Lin Dan said he would "cherish" his meeting with Lee Chong Wei after badminton's two biggest stars won through for another showdown in the final of the All-England Open.

Lin's 21-18, 21-17 semi-final victory over Kenichi Tago, the rising 21-year-old Japanese player, left the World and Olympic champion from China in sentimental mood as he contemplated another dream final with the world number one from Malaysia.

"I just want to have a good memory of this," Lin said. "I just want to have good memories of the big four. I don't know how often we will see each other again."

He was referring not only to Lee, whose defence of the All-England title carried him to a third successive final with a 21-19, 21-18 win over Lee Hyun-Il.

Lin was including Taufik Hidayat, the former World and Olympic champion from Indonesia, and Peter Gade, the former world number one from Denmark, all of whom are in their last year of competitive badminton.

Lin described his performance against Tago a "normal" one, though many watching thought it anything but.

There were moments when he played with a languorous swagger, as if challenging his opponent to get the shuttle past him, moments when he appeared to be treating it almost as an exhibition, and moments when he changed character and exploded into sudden fiery attacks.

He trailed 12-15 in the first game, and allowed Tago to recover from a five-point deficit to parity in the second. But when he needed points, he usually took them, good as Tago was. 

Earlier Lee moved to within one win of his third successive All-England Open title by edging past Lee Hyun-Il, the former world number one from Korea.

No men's singles player has achieved that since Rudy Hartono, the Indonesian great of 38 years ago, but Lee's movement and ability to respond quickly to changing situations suggest he is capable of it.

The world number one from Malaysia established an early four-point lead over the Korean, but was caught at 17-17 and again at 18-18.

Lee Chong Wei was patient and accurate at the net and with clears at that stage, but he had to cope with an even greater comeback from Lee Hyun-Il in the second game.

Often defending brilliantly, and finding unexpected angles with his left-handed slices, the Korean came back from 9-18 to 16-18 before Chong-Wei managed to force some smashes through and close the match out.

"I was well prepared today, but I have to improve my attacking," the champion said.

"I woke up with some pain in my hand today, but I managed to play through it all right."

Sunday will see his 28th meeting with Lin Dan, who has prevailed in 18 of them so far. Lee however won well against him in last year's final.

Lin says he doesn't care who wins, but if he regains the All-England title he will earn it a fifth time, a record in the professional era. But he doesn't care about that either. Only a match suitable for a farewell is his desire.

A new women's singles champion is certain.

That is because Wang Shixian, the third-seeded titleholder from China, was beaten 20-22, 21-18, 21-18 by her compatriot Wang Yihan, the top-seeded world champion.

It lasted fully 85 minutes, and two matches on the adjacent court were completed in almost the same time it took for this manouevring encounter to evolve to its conclusion.

Yihan, a good attacker, was muted for much of the match, while Shixian, better known as a fine mover, often become more aggressive, in a strange reversal of their usual modes.

It is also became certain that a Chinese player will take the women's title for the eighth time in 10 years.

That happened after Li Xuerui, a rising 21-year-old who is coached by two-time Olympic gold medallist Zhang Ning, halted the surprising Taiwanese player, Tai Tzu Ying.

The seventh seeded Chinese beat her unseeded opponent 19-21, 21-16, 21-10, getting completely on top in the final game.

China is sure of the women's doubles title as well, but cannot repeat its achievement of all five titles of three years ago.

That became impossible after the mixed doubles titleholders, Xu Chen and Ma Lin, were beaten 21-16, 21-18 by Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl, the former world champions from Denmark.