Lin, Lee through to world quarter-finals

Badminton arch-rivals were too good for third-round opponents.

GUANGZHOU: China’s badminton superstar Lin Dan made it through to the quarter-finals of the world championships yesterday, with arch-rival Lee Chong Wei also booking a place.

‘Super Dan’ made a shaky start against Malaysian Chong Wei Feng, but eventually prevailed with a 22-20, 21-10 win.

Defending champion Lin, who had not been stretched in his first two matches, came under pressure from 15th seed Chong and was forced to dive around the court as his opponent found all the angles.

“I didn’t have a good start because we had only played two matches before and I wasn’t used to his style and tactics,” said Lin. “For the first 11 points he had a lot of confidence and that created problems for me, but I found a way to adjust and got back into the match.”

Fans are hoping for another classic showdown between Lin and world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who sealed a convincing 21-12, 21-7 win against 14th seed Wang Zhengming of China.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2013.

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