Jiangsu: The two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion Lin Dan is one match away from winning the 2016 China Masters title. The Chinese No. 2 seed breezing to a comfortable 21-13, 21-15 victory against his junior Lin Guipu who has a nickname of “Little Lin Dan” in the semi-finals of China Masters in Jiangsu on Saturday.
“I know a lot of people called him little Lin Dan, but his playing style is actually different than mine,” said Lin Dan after the match.
Meanwhile, top seed Chen Long was given a tough passage into the finals of China Masters after Thai player Thailand Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk dominated the second set and forced a decider.
It was a tense affair early in the decider, with Chen and Saensomboonsuk running neck to neck and locking at 6-6. The recomposed Chen Long then adopted a more proactive tactics to pull away and claim the match 21-15, 19-21, 21-14 in 74 minutes. Chen will showdown with his team-mate and the number two seed Lin Dan in the men’s singles final on Sunday.
In women’s competition, the London 2012 gold medalist Li Xuerui continued her pursuit of glory on home soil as she fought off a resilient display from Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand, clinching the final berth with 21-14, 22-20 and set up a final meeting with compatriot Sun Yu next.
Malaysia’s challenge in the mixed doubles fizzled out after Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying were sent packing in the mixed doubles semi-finals, losing to Chinese pair Xu Chen/Ma Jin 11-21, 11-21 in 36 minutes.
It will be an all Korean men’s doubles final on Sunday as No. 1 seeds Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong are set to clash with compatriots No. 2 seeds Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang.
