PROTON-BWF THOMAS & UBER CUP 2010 FINALS: Super Dan leads the way for China
News 4:53 PM
Lin Dan settled all doubts that he is the undisputed best badminton player in the world as he led China to their fourth consecutive Thomas Cup crown at the putra stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
In a battle between former world No. 1s, Lin, the current world and Olympic champion hammered Taufik Hidayat 21-7, 21-14 as China trounced Indonesia 3-0 for their eighth win in the competition.
Despite their defeat, Indonesia still hold the record for most wins in the Thomas Cup with 13, but their last victory was in 2002. Malaysia, the only other country to win the Cup, have five titles to their name.
“I'm delighted I not only had the opportunity to meet (Lee) Chong Wei and Taufik in this year's Thomas Cup but also the fact that I beat them both in straight games," said Lin, who will leave
for home later tonight.
"Taufik pushed me hard but I managed to come out on top. We both wanted to win the first point to give our team mates some breathing space.
"I still consider Taufik and especially Chong Wei as tough opponents while Denmark Peter Gade is also quite close to us."
Lin’s next tournament is the inaugural Professional League in China which begins at the end of this month.
“We want to make this league very successful. I hope the foreign players will compete in this league,” added Lin.
China went 2-0 up when Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng outfought Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan 25-23, 16-21, 21-12 in an exciting match.
It was then left to Simon Santoso to try and save the day for Indonesia. He gave a good account of himself against Chen Jin and even won the first game 21-19.
However, that was as far as he could go as Chen upped the tempo to take the next two games 21-17, 21-7 to send the Indonesia camp home empty handed.
China's victory salvaged some pride for them as their women lost the Uber Cup final 3-1 to South Korea on Saturday.
Thomas Cup Final
China 3 Indonesia 0 (Lin Dan bt Taufik Hidayat 21-7, 21-14; Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng bt Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan 25-23, 16-21, 21-12; Chen Jin bt Simon Santoso 19-21, 21-17, 21-7)
Despite their defeat, Indonesia still hold the record for most wins in the Thomas Cup with 13, but their last victory was in 2002. Malaysia, the only other country to win the Cup, have five titles to their name.
“I'm delighted I not only had the opportunity to meet (Lee) Chong Wei and Taufik in this year's Thomas Cup but also the fact that I beat them both in straight games," said Lin, who will leave
for home later tonight.
"Taufik pushed me hard but I managed to come out on top. We both wanted to win the first point to give our team mates some breathing space.
"I still consider Taufik and especially Chong Wei as tough opponents while Denmark Peter Gade is also quite close to us."
Lin’s next tournament is the inaugural Professional League in China which begins at the end of this month.
“We want to make this league very successful. I hope the foreign players will compete in this league,” added Lin.
China went 2-0 up when Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng outfought Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan 25-23, 16-21, 21-12 in an exciting match.
It was then left to Simon Santoso to try and save the day for Indonesia. He gave a good account of himself against Chen Jin and even won the first game 21-19.
However, that was as far as he could go as Chen upped the tempo to take the next two games 21-17, 21-7 to send the Indonesia camp home empty handed.
China's victory salvaged some pride for them as their women lost the Uber Cup final 3-1 to South Korea on Saturday.
Thomas Cup Final
China 3 Indonesia 0 (Lin Dan bt Taufik Hidayat 21-7, 21-14; Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng bt Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan 25-23, 16-21, 21-12; Chen Jin bt Simon Santoso 19-21, 21-17, 21-7)
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 4:53 PM.
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