World badminton championships: Lee meets defending champ Chen in finals rematch

Former world number one yet to win gold at the prestigious event.

JAKARTA: Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia cruised into his fourth straight men’s singles final at the world championships on Saturday, but must overcome Chinese top seed Chen Long to win his elusive gold.

Lee, a three-time runner up at badminton’s most prestigious event, advanced to yet another title match after swatting aside second seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark 21-7, 21-19.

The former world number one is unseeded for the first time in years at this world championships, having just returned from an eight-month ban for doping.

But he’s staged a ferocious comeback and looks dangerous as ever in Jakarta, dismissing four seeded opponents in his relentless march towards a maiden world crown.

To end his gold-medal drought, the Malaysian superstar must beat world number one Chen, who defeated him in last year’s world championship final and has already won four titles this season.

“Last year and this year are very different,” said 32-year-old Lee. “This is my chance, and maybe my last opportunity.”

Meanwhile, world number one Carolina Marin, who almost didn’t make the world championships due to injury, staged a gripping comeback against South Korea’s Sung Ji-Hyun to book a second-straight finals appearance.

The top seed and defending champion screamed in triumph as she emerged victorious after a 90-minute battle over Sung 21-17, 15-21, 21-16.

Marin was overjoyed at earning the chance to defend her world title, but conceded she let herself down mentally. “Today I was nervous and sometimes I was angry with myself because I wasn’t thinking about what I had to do, I was thinking about the score,” said the 22-year-old European champion. “That made me angrier with myself.”

Marin will face second seed Saina Nehwal after she brushed off local favourite Lindaweni Fanetri 21-17, 21-17 before a riotous home crowd.

For a second year in a row, it will be an all-Chinese affair in the finals of the mixed doubles.

Top-ranked pair Zhang Nang and Zhao Yunlei defeated resilient Indonesian duo Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, while fourth seeded Chinese pair Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin beat their second seeded compatriots Xu Chen and Ma Jin. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2015.

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