Lin Dan secures third Asian crown

Five-time badminton world champion defeats Sho Sasaki.

SEOUL: Five-time world champion Lin Dan earned a hard-fought title in the men’s singles at the Badminton Asia Championships in South Korea on Sunday.

The Chinese great outlasted Sho Sasaki of Japan 14-21, 21-9, 21-15 in the seesaw final that took 66 minutes in Gimcheon, 230 kilometres southeast of Seoul.

It was Lin’s third Asian title and his second win of 2014 in as many appearances.

He won the China Masters earlier this month in his season debut that ended an extended layoff.

Lin, a former world number one, saw his world ranking fall outside the top 100 before bouncing back to 83rd following the win on home soil.

Lin had not dropped a set en route to the final in South Korea before Sasaki, world number 23, pushed him early. But the Japanese ended up losing for the 10th time in 11 meetings against the Chinese.

In the men’s doubles, Shin Baek-Cheol and Yoo Yeon-Seong edged out Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen of China 22-20, 21-17.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2014.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.