# From one mouth-watering tie to another
# Chong Wei secures his 10th win over Chinese ace Lin Dan
# Chong Wei to face Chen Long in final
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There was not much celebration over his win but a clenched left fist spoke of Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s satisfaction of defeating five-time world champion Lin Dan in an epic battle in the men’s singles semi-finals in the USD700,000 Thaihot China Open Superseries Premier in Fuzhou City on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Malaysian, unseeded in the China Open, battled for 91 minutes before securing a come-from-behind 17-21, 21-19, 21-19 win – his first over Lin Dan on China soil. Lin Dan was seeded No 3 in Fuzhou.
It was Chong Wei’s only 10th win over Lin Dan in 35 meetings and he celebrated it by giving his coach Tey Seu Bok a big hug.
In the semi-finals on Friday, Chong Wei knocked out World No 2 and second seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark – also in a three-set battle. The Malaysian won 21-11, 11-21, 21-10.
In Sunday’s final at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center, Chong will face current world No 1 and reigning world champion Chen Long. Chen Long coasted to a 21-11, 21-17 win over South Korea’s San Wan-ho in 33 minutes in his semi-final encounter.
In the previous 21 meetings between Chong Long and Chong Wei the Chinese top seed holds a 12-9 advantage in the head to head count.
After knocking out the second and third seeds in Fuzhou City can Chong Wei add the top seed to his list to complete his fairy tale run in his chase for Olympic points?
Sunday’s final will be a repeat of this year’s World Championship final on Aug 16 when Chen Long defeated the Malaysian 21-14, 21-17 to retain his title in a match which was totally dominated by the Chinese.
Last month Chong Wei won the Yonex French Open to add to the US Open and Canada Grand Prix Gold titles in June.
The Malaysian ace has been slowly inching his way up in world rankings and has moved No 9 since coming back from an eight-month layoff following a ban for alleged doping.
With the morale boosting win over Lin Dan it is hoped that Chong Wei will be in better frame of mind mentally to vie for the USD52,500 prize money that comes with the title.
Meanwhile in the women’s singles defending champion and top seed Saina Nehwal of India outplayed China’s Wang Yihan with confidence to book her place in the final with a 21-13, 21-18 win in 42 minutes.
In the final, Nehwal ranked No 2, will play another Chinese player Li Xuerui who defeated compatriot Wang Shixian 21-14, 21-5 .
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RESULTS (All semi-finals))
MEN
Singles
Datuk Lee Chong Wei (Mas) beat Lin Dan (Chn) 17-21, 21-19, 21-19
Chen Long (Chn) beat San Wan-ho (Kor) 21-11, 21-17
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Doubles
Kim Ji-gung-Kim Sa-rang (Kor) beat Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa (Jpn) 21-17, 21-18
Chai Biao-Hong Wei (Chn) beat Ko Sung-hyun-Shin Baek Cheol (Kor) 21-15, 21-19
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WOMEN
Singles
Saina Nehwal (Ind) beat Wang Yihan (Chn) 21-13, 21-18
Li Xuerui (Chn) beat Wang Shixian (Chn) 21-14, 21-5
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Doubles
Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) beat Chang Ye-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-18, 21-17
Tang Yangting-Yu Yang (Chn) beat Tian Qing-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) 21-13, 21-19
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Mixed doubles
Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) beat Xu Chen-Ma Jin (Chn) 21-19, 21-11
Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (Den) beat Liu Cheng-Boa Yixin (Chn) 21-16, 21-19
