KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17  -- World No 1 Datuk Lee Chong Wei failed in his bid to defend his BWF Super Series Master Finals for the fourth consecutive time after losing to Chen Long of China in a semi-final match held at Li Ning Stadium in Liuzhou, China Saturday.

The national No 1 singles is the defending champion of the Superseries finals in the three previous tournaments which were held in Sabah (2008), Johor (2009) and in Taiwan last year.

In the semi-final match Saturday, the lanky Chinese player used his height as an advantage to beat the Penangite with the scores 21-16, 16-21 and 21-18 in a gruelling 80-minute encounter.

The Chinese player will meet his compatriot Lin Dan in the final on Sunday after the Olympic champion beat Danish aging player Peter Hoeg Gade in straight sets, 21-12 and 21-15 in 41 minutes in another semi-final match, according to www.tournamentsoftware.com, the tournament website.

The Masters Final is the season-ending finale for the OSIM BWF World Super Series, where the top eight in each of the men's and women's singles, doubles, and mixed doubles disciplines (with a quota of two players or pairs per country for each discipline) on the World Super Series standings, battle it out for a share of the USD500,000 (RM 1.6 million) prize money.