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Badminton-Super Dan easing Olympic heartache
2005-03-12
BIRMINGHAM, England - China's world number one Lin Dan is poised to set aside Olympic heartache after reaching the All England badminton men's singles final on Saturday.Lin, 21, known as Super Dan, won the All England title last year but made a shock exit in the first round of the Olympic tournament in Athens. The Chinese is keen to get back on track and booked his final place with a 15-8 12-15 15-1 win over ninth-seeded Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia. Lin's opponent in Sunday's final will be his fourth-seeded compatriot Chen Hong, who beat Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei 15-13 15-10. Chen won the All England title in 2002 but may struggle against his friend who looked hungry on Saturday, brushing aside the loss of the second game to produce some of his best badminton. "When I lost the second set I knew what I was doing wrong, so I had to put it right," said Lin. "It was a great pity I lost so early in the Olympics but I can't let it affect the rest of my playing." Lin's girlfriend Xie Xingfang will feature in the women's singles final, booking her place with an easy 11-8 11-5 success over Mia Audina Tjiptawan of the Netherlands. Audina, who took the silver medal in Athens, complained of being tired after falling victim to Friday's late night quarter-finals running. Her match started at 2350 GMT, ending 40 minutes later in a near-empty stadium. She said on Saturday: "Last night I played really late. I was the last one on and that is not good for me. I didn't have enough rest." Xie's opponent on Sunday is the Olympic champion and number one seed Zhang Ning, who eventually got the better of Japan's unseeded Eriko Hirose 11-4 9-11 11-1. A diplomatic Lin said: "I shall be cheering for both as they are both team mates." Europeans broke the Asian mould in the mixed doubles where the final will be between Olympic silver medallists Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms of Britain and the unseeded Danish duo of Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl. A full house of 4,500 cheered Robertson and Emms all the way, the Olympic feel-good factor still in evidence. "The noise was brilliant," said Emms. Reuters
China beat Germany 5-0 to reach Thomas Cup quarter-finals (2006-04-30)Badminton-Holder Lin slumps to All England defeat (2005-03-13)Badminton-Super Dan easing Olympic heartache (2005-03-12)China to dominate badminton finals day (2005-03-12)Lin Dan on course for badminton repeat (2005-03-11)
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