Chong Wei stamps his mark to set up final meeting with nemesis Lin Dan

Posted by Lucas Liau Top News 9:37 AM

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei stamped his mark once again to set up an eagerly-awaited showdown with China’s Lin Dan in the All-England badminton championships in Birmingham.
Yesterday, defending champion Chong Wei showed fantastic control at the net and good defence to overcome a gutsy Chen Long, also of China, 21-17, 21-13 in 46 minutes.
A day earlier, the two-time world junior champion Chen Long recorded an impressive 21-12, 21-12 win over 1999 All-England champion Peter Gade-Christensen in the last eight.
And the lanky shuttler continued with his aggressive style of play against Chong Wei, but it wasn’t enough to break the Malaysian’s solid defence.
Chong Wei was in control right from the start and, despite a flurry of smashes from Chen Long, the Malaysian kept his cool to reach his third consecutive final – much to the delight of the Malaysian supporters in the arena.

On Friday, Chong Wei had bulldozed past Boonsak Ponsana 21-15, 21-7 in just 30 minutes to send a clear signal of his intention to defend the title in Birmingham.
National coach Rashid Sidek hoped that Chong Wei would take his chances well against Lin Dan today.
“This is a good time for Chong Wei to get the better of Lin Dan. This is a big stage and to beat Lin Dan here will be a great achievement,” said Rashid in a telephone interview.
“Chong Wei has been impressive here. It is not easy to reach the final of the All-England for three years in a row. He has an equal chance of winning and I hope he will be able to accomplish his mission here.”
Like Chong Wei, his nemesis Lin Dan has been equally impressive en route to the final.
Yesterday, three-time world champion Lin Dan checked into the final with a 21-9, 16-21, 21-11 win over a gritty Marc Zwiebler in the semi-final.
Lin Dan, who brushed aside Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam 21-17, 21-11 in the quarter-finals on Friday, will have an extra motivation to get the better of Chong Wei today.
If he wins, he will become the first player of this era to win five All-England titles.
For the record, Lin Dan has won 18 out of the 24 encounters against Chong Wei, with his latest win coming at the richest badminton tournament in South Korea in January .