BadmintonPlant.com to provide exclusive coverage for China Masters GP Gold
By Vincent LiewPublished
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5-time World Champion and 2 time Olympic gold medalist, Lin Dan faced some resistance in China Masters Badminton Open quarter-final but still managed to bulldoze his way through the threats posed by Derek Wong from Singapore.
Lin Dan got off a good start in the first set by leading Derek 4-1 but Derek started launching his attacks to tie the score at 5-5 and was able to snatch 3 more consecutive points. The tournament’s superstars showed no fear and showcased his spectacular drop shots, and cross court smashing to catch back up to Derek at 10-10, and then went on to seal the first set with 21-16.
In the second set, Derek took an early lead with 3-1. Lin got his form back quickly as he notched up next four consecutive points. It was a neck-and-neck battle between Lin and Wong after 7-7. On few occasions, the Singaporean rode on his smashes to force Lin Dan to dive around the court to return his smashes. Lin, however, kept his composure and sealed the affair in his favor by pocketing the next six points after 15-15 to move on to semi-final.
“Derek is not the strongest shuttler I’ve played in the first 3 rounds, but he had the strongest will and extremely hungry for victory. He caused a lot of troubles for me today. Fortunately, I was able to calm myself down, and was able to rescue some difficult and dangerous shots from Derek,” said Lin Dan.
Mixed doubles pair, Tan Aik Quan – Lim Yin Loo is the sole survivor for the Malaysia camp by defeating Li Junhui-Huang Dongping of China 21-17, 21-9 in 31 minutes.
