Wuhan: World No. 2 Lee Chong Wei will face World No. 3 Lin Dan in a blockbuster semi-final clash at the 2016 Badminton Asia Championships after dismissing No. 6 seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan on Friday in Wuhan, China.
Lee and Lin will clash for the 36th time on Saturday at Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, with Lin Dan holds the advantage in a 25-10 head-to-head record. Nevertheless, Lee has prevailed in their past contest where he beat Lin 17-21, 21-19, 21-19 in the semi-finals of last year’s China Open.
In Friday’s quarter-final, Lee Chong Wei saw off Chou Tien Chen’s late resilience to cap a quarter-final victory against the Taiwanese shuttler 21-16, 21-18 in 49 minutes.
Meanwhile, China’s badminton maestro Lin Dan was in unstoppable form as he brushed aside South Korea’s Lee Dong Keun 21-15, 21-11 in 42 minutes.
World No. 1 Chen Long of China will play compatriot Tian Houwei in the other men’s semi-final.
South Korea’s men’s doubles top seeds Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong also progressed to the semi-finals and will take on Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda of Japan for a final berth.
Men’s doubles No. 4 seeds Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan will get another chance to justify their No. 1 ranking amongst the Chinese men’s doubles pairs when they share court with their younger teammates Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen on Saturday.
